What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore
by Teddylonglong
Summary: ... and the children of the Great Alliance brought Dumbledore to court on behalf of nine-year-old Harry Potter because of tolerating child abuse? Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore/Weasley bashing.
1. Letters

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Soon-to-be ten-year-old Daphne Greengrass let the book sink into her lap, sighing deeply.

"Daphne, what's the matter?" her mother enquired from her favourite recliner in the elegant living room, giving her oldest daughter a concerned look.

"Do you believe that it's true what's written in this book?" Daphne asked in disbelief, holding out the book _'Harry Potter and the Green Welsh Dragon',_ which she had just finished reading, to her mother.

Jessica Greengrass skimmed the book, shaking her head in apparent disbelief, before she stated, "I don't believe that this book is much more than fiction, dear."

"It definitely is purely fictional," her husband spoke up, "considering that the boy is only nine years old and that he's growing up with muggles."

"Can we invite him here one day?" Daphne's younger sister Astoria suggested. "Then we can ask him about his life with the muggles. And maybe he has some questions about the magical world."

"That's a good idea," Daphne agreed, pensively.

Their father shook his head. "I'm sorry, dears, but Albus Dumbledore forbade everyone to do as much as contact the boy."

"Do we care?" Daphne challenged, quirking an eyebrow at her parents. "You can't invite him, but we can – maybe even together with all the other children of the Great Alliance. Oh well, those between eight and ten in any case."

"Yeah," Astoria agreed, standing in front of her parents with her fists pressed against her hips, as to emphasize the statement.

Cygnus Greengrass stared at his daughters in what seemed to be a combination of surprise and pride.

"Very well," he finally decided, after exchanging a few glances with his wife, "why don't you invite the children for your birthday, Daphne?"

"I'll do that," Daphne replied in determination. Her birthday, the 25th of May, was on the following Saturday. "Do you think an owl will reach Harry?"

"His relatives' house could be warded, so that owls can't approach it," Cygnus said, pensively.

"That's not a problem," Astoria quipped. "Just send it during the week, so that the owl can find him on his way to or from the muggle primary school. Remember how we saw so many children walk to school with their strange book bags the other day. Muggles seem to all send their children to primary schools."

"Oh right," Daphne nodded in understanding.

"Write one invitation for everyone else first, and I'll copy it for you," her mother suggested. "You should send them out today. Six days of forewarning is quite a short notice anyway. At the same time, I'm going to write to their parents, and we'll send the letters together. Afterwards, you need to write a special letter for Harry. He might not even know what a Portkey is."

"All right," Daphne agreed, happily, and dashed upstairs into her room to engross herself in her letter writing – with her annoying little sister jumping all around her, excited and impatient as ever.

HP

Nine-year-old Harry Potter was on his way back home from school on this bright Monday afternoon in May, when a snowy white owl approached him. Harry had never seen such a beautiful bird and stared at it in amazement.

_'Such a pretty bird,'_ he thought. _'I've never seen such a thing before.'_

Suddenly, he realised that the owl was carrying what seemed to be a small, folded paper and that it was holding out her foot towards him.

"Is that for me?" he asked, incredulously, his eyes widening in shock, when the owl nodded.

"Can you understand me?" he asked in disbelief, almost jumping back in fright, when the owl did not only nod again, but also let out what seemed to be an impatient, screeching sound.

"Oh sorry," he apologized and carefully took the small paper from the bird, before he curiously unfolded it.

"A letter," he thought, wide-eyed, "and addressed to me."

_'Hello Harry,  
next Saturday is my tenth birthday, and I would like to invite you together with my other friends to come to my birthday party.  
I don't know how well you know the magical world, but this letter is a Portkey. On Saturday afternoon at two o'clock, you must hold on to the letter, and it will take you to my home. We very much hope to see you then.  
Your friend Daphne Greengrass  
P.S. Don't show this letter to any muggles (non-magical people). My owl will come back to you tomorrow, so if you have any questions, you can send a reply to me with her tomorrow.'_

_'I have a friend?'_ Harry wondered in disbelief. _'This letter was probably for someone else. I don't have friends, and no one would invite me to their birthday party. I should tell the girl that I mistakenly have received her letter. Even if she seemed nice and it would be amazing to have such a friend.'_

With that thought in mind, he made his way straight to his room in his relatives' residence, the cupboard under the stairs, where he penned a response.

_'Hello Daphne,  
I received your letter, but I think that it was not for me. I am only a freak and a burden to all the good people like my uncle tells me all the time. He also told me that there is no such thing as magic. I would love to have a friend like you. You seem very nice.  
Harry'_

He pocketed his letter at the bottom of his school bag, where he hoped that neither Dudley nor his aunt would be able to find it. He could just imagine how Dudley would have a field day with his friends ridiculing Harry over the idea of having a friend. The original letter he buried under his pillow, where he deemed it safe from his relatives' prying eyes.

To his surprise and utter relief, the owl approached him on his way to school, so that he did not even have to wait for school to end, before he could send his reply. Nevertheless, he felt very disappointed, when he observed the owl take off with his letter securely fastened to its foot. _'I'll never see the owl again. It would be too nice if I were able to think I had a friend,'_ he thought, sadly, as he slowly continued walking to school.

HP

"What?" Daphne blurted out in anger, thrusting the letter at her mother. "Hero of the magical world? He's abused, at least verbally, by his muggle relatives!"

"Daphne," her mother said in a no-nonsense voice, "please sit down and let us continue our lesson. You can show me the letter and pen a response during lunch break."

Like most pureblood children in the magical world, Daphne and Astoria were home schooled by their mother, who did not tolerate any disturbances during lessons. It had been pure chance that Daphne had gone to use the toilet, when the owl approached her, so that she had been able to read her letter when she did.

"Okay," she grudgingly agreed, "but I will write it during lunch time, because I want him to get my response, before he returns home from school."

"Show me the letter," Astoria begged her, and Daphne slid the letter over to her sister, casting her mother an apologetic look.

"Those stupid muggles!" Astoria blurted out a moment later, balling her hands into fists. "Thank Merlin you invited Harry when you did."

HP

By the time Harry returned from school, the owl was again waiting for him, once again holding out a letter for him. His breathing fastened in excitement, as he carefully took it from the owl's foot only to quickly open it, feeling absolutely thrilled to have another letter.

_'Dear Harry,  
you're neither a freak nor a burden to anyone! If your name is Harry Potter and your birthday is on the 31st of July, 1980, then the letter was for you. Only joking - if my owl gave you the letter, it was for you. Owls don't make mistakes. Harry, you are a wizard, just like I am a witch. Don't confront your relatives over this though, let me and my family handle this. You will not know me, but my parents were good friends with your parents, and we would like to get to know you. On Saturday afternoon at two o'clock, you must hold on to the original invitation, no matter where you are at that time, and it will take you here.  
I look forward to meeting you.  
Your friend  
Daphne'_

_'I don't have a birthday,'_ Harry thought, sadly. _'She doesn't know that I'm a freak. But still, I'm invited to her party. I should go, even if she won't want me there, when she realises who I am. Her parents knew mine? Perhaps they can tell me something about my parents. That would be absolutely terrific.'_

During the rest of the week, he could not help looking forward to Saturday afternoon, when he was going to get to know the nice girl.

As soon as he was finished making breakfast for his relatives on Saturday morning, he cleaned himself up as well as possible and put on his best hand-me-down clothes, which were much too big as usual, before he left the house, glad that his relatives had not gotten around to lock his cupboard door yet. He walked in the direction of his school, until he reached the spot, where the owl had approached him to give him his letter.

Sitting down on a small projection from a wall, he picked up his letter and waited for something to happen, not caring that it was only ten o'clock in the morning.

Four hours later, he felt a strange pull behind his navel, and the world turned black in front of his eyes, as the Portkey, which was going to completely change his life, activated.

HP

Daphne and Astoria were impatiently waiting in the entrance hall, knowing that Harry should arrive in about a minute. They had decided for him to come at two o'clock, so that they would be able to get to know Harry in private, before everyone else was supposed to arrive at half past two.

Finally, a lone figure arrived on the floor just in front of them, and the two girls stared at the young boy in surprise.

"Hello Harry," Daphne finally greeted the boy, once he had removed himself from the floor and was standing in front of them. He had brilliant green eyes, which Daphne found very impressive. However, his clothes seemed worn-out and were much too big. "Thanks for coming to my party," she added, casting the seemingly shy boy a broad smile.

"Thank you so much for inviting me," Harry stammered. "Oh and happy birthday I guess," he added, uncertainly looking from Daphne to Astoria.

"Thank you," Daphne replied in a soft voice. "I'm Daphne, by the way, and this is my younger sister, Astoria. She's eight."

"Hello Astoria," Harry greeted the younger witch.

"Hi Harry," Astoria replied, holding out a hand to him, which Harry hesitantly took in apparent surprise. "Come, let's go into the parlour and introduce you to my parents."

Daphne observed in amusement how her much too energetic sister took care of the seemingly frightened boy. _'The poor boy. It seems he's not only at least verbally abused but also neglected by his relatives. At least from the clothes he's wearing it certainly seems so,'_ she thought, somehow feeling very sorry for Harry.

HP

Glad that the younger of the girls took his hand and pulled him away to remedy the slightly awkward situation of his arrival, Harry allowed her to pull him with her into the room, where the party seemed to be going to take place. Somehow, he felt safe in the girls' presence, even if he had only met them for the first time.

"Mum, Dad, this is Harry," Astoria introduced him, and Harry shyly offered a small, "Hello."

"Hello Harry, we're Cygnus and Jessica Greengrass, Daphne's and Astoria's parents," the girls' mother introduced the adults, before Astoria dragged Harry to the sofa and made him sit beside her.

"Harry," Daphne addressed him, as she took the seat on his other side, "will you please tell us something about yourself? I mean, I was surprised that you wrote in your letter you didn't know about the magical world. You know that you're a wizard, don't you?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry, but my relatives always tell me that there's no such thing as magic."

"Harry," the girls' father spoke up, smiling at him. "Do they tell you about magic not existing, when you happen to do strange things, which they can't do?"

"Yes," Harry admitted in a small voice. He remained pensive for a moment, before turning his eyes to the man. "These strange things as you call it, they are magic, right?" he enquired, suddenly getting very excited.

"Exactly," Cygnus Greengrass replied, smiling. "You're a wizard, Harry, just like myself. My wife and daughters are witches. From what I heard, when you were still a baby, your magic must even be very strong."

"Were…" Harry hesitantly trailed off, having learned not to ask questions.

"What?" Daphne enquired, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Were my parents magical, too?" Harry asked, hesitantly.

"Oh yes, and we were good friends with them," the girls' father informed him.

Harry listened in excitement, when the Greengrasses told him how they had got to know his parents at Hogwarts, a school for magic, which he was going to attend together with Daphne and Astoria from the age of eleven onwards. They also told him about the Great Alliance of many ancient and noble Houses and informed him that House Potter was one of them.

"The Great Alliance is an accumulation of the members of the Light Alliance, which was founded by your grandfather, Charlus Potter, and the smaller Neutral Alliance, which was founded by myself," Cygnus explained, patiently. "The Great Alliance mainly opposes the Dark Alliance consisting of families who supported the Dark Lord in the war…"

"All the children of the Great Alliance are going to come for the party in a few minutes' time," Astoria interrupted her father with apparent eagerness.

"I'm sure they'll all be thrilled to get to know you," Daphne added. "You're famous in the magical world, and everyone knows your name."

"Me?" Harry asked in disbelief. "I'm just only Harry… a good for nothing freak," he added in a barely audible voice.

"Harry, we're going to tell you everything later on," Astoria said in a soothing voice. "The other guests will arrive soon, but we'll have time to speak more about it, when everyone leaves in the early evening."

"Exactly," her sister concurred, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Harry," Jessica suddenly addressed him, when Daphne proceeded to return to the entrance hall to wait for her guests, leaving Harry with her sister and her parents, "would you like me to transfigure your clothes to something more fitting for you?"

Harry looked up, wide-eyed. "Yes please," he whispered. "I always get to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs, and they're too big for me," he added in a barely audible voice.

He stared at Jessica in shock, when she suddenly pulled a wand and pointed it at him, muttering something that he could not understand.

Only when Astoria voiced her consent with her mother's doing, did Harry notice that his clothes had changed. He was now wearing dark blue trousers and a white T-shirt, which was decorated with several cats that were playing with a red ball of wool. Occasionally, one or the other cat let out a small meaow.

"Thank you so much," Harry said, smiling broadly at his new outfit. "This is too funny," he added, feeling very happy at the witch's kindness.

Before Harry knew what happened, Daphne returned with at least a dozen children of about their age in tow. Only upon seeing the other boys and girls did he realise, _'Oh no, I should have brought her a birthday present.'_

_tbc...?_

_Please tell me what you think._


	2. The Party

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

* * *

Harry only absentmindedly registered how Daphne introduced a bunch of children to him, as his mind was occupied by the realisation that he should have brought a birthday present for the girl, who had been kind enough to invite him to her party. As he had never had a birthday party let alone a present and did not even know when his birthday was, the idea had never crossed his mind, before he saw the other children arrive carrying gifts that were wrapped in colourful papers.

"Hi, I'm Harry," he introduced himself, trying to smile at the children in spite of his predicament.

"Hi Harry, I'm Neville and I'm your godbrother," a boy told him, causing Harry to give the boy a questioning look.

"I'm sorry, Neville, but what is a godbrother?" he asked in a small voice.

"Your mother was my godmother and mine yours," Neville explained. "Too bad that they're both unavailable; otherwise, we'd have grown up as brothers. My Gran wanted to take you in, but Professor Dumbledore insisted that you had to live with your relatives. I'm only six hours older than you, by the way."

Harry smiled, feeling very happy about the other boy's revelations. "Oh, I'd have loved that. My relatives don't like me at all, and they hate magic."

"Really?" Neville enquired, his eyes narrowing.

"Why in the world do you have to live with them then?" a girl with red hair and chocolate brown eyes enquired. "From what my Auntie told me, many people wanted to become your guardians, but Dumbledore refused to them all. He even made himself your guardian and locked your parents' Will, so that no one knows what they'd have wanted for you."

"Susan, are you sure?" Astoria, who was still sitting next to Harry, enquired, seemingly angry.

"Yes," Susan replied, matter-of-factly.

"I wonder if he knows that Harry is being abused by his relatives," Daphne spoke up.

"Susan, maybe we need to speak with your aunt later on. Perhaps, she'll be able to help Harry," Cygnus Greengrass added, causing the girl to nod.

"Of course, Lord Greengrass. We can call her over at any time. Even if she can't help against Professor Dumbledore, she's best friends with Unspeakable Croaker."

"Come and let me introduce you to some other guests." Daphne motioned Harry to follow her and introduced him to Tracey Davis, Fay Dunbar, Sue Li and Luna Lovegood.

"Daphne," Harry whispered, once they were not surrounded by anyone else, "I'm sorry, I should have brought you a birthday present, but I didn't know, because I've never received one, plus I don't have any money to buy a gift. I'd have picked a few flowers for you though had I known. I'm very sorry."

"Harry," Daphne replied, smiling at him, "there's no need to be sorry, and there's no need for a present either. I'm very happy to have you here, and I'm sure that everyone else is equally thrilled to get to know you. Don't worry about anything now and just try to enjoy yourself. Would you like to sit between Astoria and me?"

Only then did Harry realise that the girl was leading him into a very elegant looking dining room that was occupied by a large table surrounded by many chairs. She instructed everyone to sit down and have some cake. An enormous cake in the form of what seemed to be a horse stood in the centre of the table. He hesitantly lowered himself into the seat between Daphne and Astoria, already feeling very much reassured in their presence.

"That's a unicorn cake," Astoria informed him.

'Oh right, with a horn like the unicorns in the fairy tale, which we read at school,' Harry recognised.

"It looks very nice," he commented, thinking, _'How strange. The Dursleys never want me to sit at the table with them, and these girls, who barely even know me, just tell me to sit between them. I'm really glad to be here; everyone is so very nice to me.'_

"Harry," a red headed boy suddenly addressed him from the opposite side of the table. "Is it true that you're friends with a unicorn and slaughtered a dragon? My sister talks about nothing else but you the whole day."

"Shut up, Ronald," the girl who was sitting next to the boy and had equally red hair, hissed, slightly kicking him in the side.

"What?" Harry blurted out in disbelief and confusion. "I don't know what you're speaking about," he added, glad when Daphne and Astoria gave him encouraging nods. _'Why would the boy say such a thing?'_ he wondered.

"Harry, someone has published a series of books about a magical wonder boy, who does all strange things and is always displayed as a hero," Neville, who was sitting on Daphne's other side, informed him in a soft voice. "He's named Harry Potter after you but otherwise has nothing to do with you."

"No one should be allowed to use Harry's name like that," the girl, who had introduced herself to Harry as Sue Li, spoke up. "Harry could take the publisher to court and possibly get a lot of money out of this."

"Good point," Daphne agreed. "We'll talk about the matter with my parents later on."

Harry thoroughly enjoyed his piece of cake, thinking that it was the most delicious food that he had ever tasted. However, when Astoria offered him another piece, he sadly had to decline, as he felt completely full.

Finally, the whole party went out into the garden, which was at least ten times the size of the Dursleys' garden, of which his aunt was always so proud. After just playing forth and back with a red ball like the children in his primary school sometimes did, they decided to play Hiding, and Daphne had to go inside, slowly count to fifty and then come to look for everyone.

Smirking, Harry hurried towards the small lake, having noticed that the grass on the opposite shore was high enough to hide behind. When he lowered himself onto the ground, feeling certain that Daphne would not be able to see him from the other side of the lake, he noticed, to his surprise, that one of the girls had followed him. She simply sat on the ground next to him and began to speak.

"Hi Harry, I'm Luna – just in case you didn't know," she said, pleasantly. "I think that wrackspurts are clouding the headmaster's mind for him to force you to live with your muggle relatives. You must tell the Greengrasses that it's wrackspurts, and they need to get help from the Unspeakables. They're the only ones able to override the headmaster's decisions. I wish you good luck."

"Thanks Luna," Harry replied, smiling. "Everyone is so nice to me. I really don't want to go back to my relatives. Ever," he added as an afterthought.

"Don't go back then," Luna suggested, smiling. "We will all help you, and you can visit each of us. If they don't allow you to stay with one of our families, you can just take turns visiting until you go to Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore can't forbid you to visit your friends."

"Are we… friends?" Harry asked, shyly, somehow liking the girl, although she seemed a little strange to him, stranger even than all the other young witches and wizards.

Luna cast him a cheery look from bright blue eyes that reminded Harry of the summer sky. "Yes Harry, I'd like to be your friend, and I know that everyone else does, too."

"Thanks Luna," Harry replied, smiling broadly at the prospect of having gained so many friends, really nice girls and boys, who above everything could do magic just like himself.

The children were brought back to reality, when Daphne showed up right behind them.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" she asked in apparent amusement, causing Harry to realise that Luna and he were unconsciously leaning into each other.

"Ah no, sorry," he hurried to stammer, casting Luna an apologetic look, only to realise that the girl did not seem to mind at all.

"Good hiding spot," Daphne commended them. "You were the last to be found."

HP

Too soon for Harry's liking, the party was over, and the other children had to return home. Harry remained, feeling slightly unsure, as he did not know what would be expected of him. He felt just a little relieved, when Susan returned from the entrance hall.

"Auntie is going to bring Unspeakable Croaker in a few minutes' time," Susan announced, while Astoria pulled Harry over to the sofa for the second time that afternoon.

Just a moment later, Harry was introduced to Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement in the Ministry of Magic.

"There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry wondered, unaware that he had voiced his thought.

"Yes dear, and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is analogue to the Police Department in a muggle government," Amelia explained, patiently, before she introduced her companion, who was wearing a grey hood covering his face. "This is Unspeakable Croaker, the head of the Unspeakables. They could be compared to Scotland Yard in the muggle world."

Harry nodded in understanding, waiting for the questions that were sure to come. However, before the adults could even begin to ask, a small, strange creature appeared in the middle of the room – right out of nothing.

Harry stared at the creature, wide-eyed, however, with interest.

"Harry, this is Tanny, our house-elf," Jessica Greengrass introduced the elf, who then proceeded to announce that dinner had been served in the dining room.

"Now let's head to the dining room and talk about what we can do to help Harry over dinner," Cygnus Greengrass decided. "Is that all right with you, Amelia, Unspeakable Croaker?"

Both adults nodded, and Harry trailed behind Daphne and Susan, walking next to Astoria. _'Maybe I don't have to return to the Dursleys,'_ he thought, hoping very much for a wonder like he had done on a daily basis during the last eight years.

Once again, he sat between the two sisters, opposite of Madame Bones and Unspeakable Croaker.

When everyone had filled their plates, Cygnus Greengrass spoke up. "Amelia and Unspeakable Croaker, thank you so much for joining us on such a short notice. In fact, our children decided to do what we weren't allowed to do – invite Harry Potter for a party. Only when he arrived here earlier this afternoon, did we learn that he was at least verbally abused and neglected by his so-called family. He did not even know about magic."

"He lives in the cupboard under the stairs," Astoria blurted out, accusingly. "Luna told me that. She spent some time with Harry, when we played Hiding."

"She said that wrackspurts were clouding the headmaster's brain," Harry heard himself speak, before he even realised that he had voiced his thought.

"I believe that Miss Lovegood is correct," Croaker agreed.

"The problem is that Dumbledore is Harry's guardian," Amelia spoke up, "and that he sealed the Potters' Will, so that there's nothing that we can do about it."

"Oh, we can and we will," Croaker said, grimly.

"If we don't return Harry to his relatives, they or Dumbledore could accuse all of us of child abduction," Amelia explained, sighing.

"The Dursleys will just be happy that I'm gone," Harry spoke up in a small voice.

"But still, it would be seen as child abduction, and Dumbledore could have us thrown into prison for it. Croaker, is there anything that you can do about it?" Cygnus enquired in a firm voice. "We'd love to just keep Harry here."

Realising that everyone looked at the Unspeakable in apparent expectation, Harry followed their move; however, Croaker remained pensive for a few minutes. When he finally spoke up, he directly addressed Harry.

"Harry, do I understand it correctly that you don't wish to return to your relatives'?" he enquired.

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed, giving the Unspeakable a worried look.

"Very well then, would you perhaps be interested and willing to join the Unspeakables and work together with us?" Croaker continued to ask.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know what will be expected of me, but if you believe that I'd be adequate for it, I'd love to do so," he replied, feeling very uncertain about the matter. "I'm used to do garden work, cooking and cleaning," he added in a barely audible voice, not noticing that it caused the adults to stare at him in apparent shock.

"Neither of those things you'll have to do with us," Croaker replied in a firm voice. "Everything will of course be explained to you. As Amelia Bones mentioned, we do the work that Scotland Yard does in the muggle world. Sometimes, we fight evil wizards, but we do much research, and we also work together with the muggle authorities. We are allowed to do things, which Amelia's department is not permitted to do, even if they're the so-called police in the magical world. Why I'm suggesting this to you is that you could be emancipated in the magical world if you were to become an Unspeakable."

"Will Harry nevertheless be able to attend Hogwarts together with us?" Daphne enquired, giving Harry a concerned look.

"Of course," Croaker confirmed. "During his time at Hogwarts, he'll only attend meetings and training once or twice a week and not during class time. That won't be a problem at all."

"Excuse me, sir," Harry spoke up in a small voice. He had not understood everything that the Unspeakable had explained.

"Harry, emancipated means that the magical world will see you as an adult, so that you may decide for yourself where you wish to live. You could live here with us or with any of the children, who were here this afternoon. Everyone would be willing to take you in," Cygnus explained, giving Harry an encouraging nod.

"Would you really…"

"Of course, Harry," Astoria interrupted his hesitant beginning of a question, which she seemed to have expected. "We'd love to have you here, won't we, Daphne?"

"Of course," Daphne confirmed, smiling broadly. "I always wanted a brother."

"Well, then I suggest that you accompany me to the Unspeakables' office to see to the formalities. We've never employed a nine-year-old, but everything has to be a first case sometime," Croaker addressed Harry, who nodded, eagerly.

"Before you leave," Cygnus began, turning to Amelia. "We'd like to instigate a Wizengamot meeting, in which Albus can be brought to court and rid of his headmaster's position at least."

Amelia nodded in understanding. "I'll see to it. You'll hear from me," she promised.

"Auntie," Susan spoke up in a firm voice. "Please see to it that all the children of the Great Alliance are allowed to attend the Wizengamot meeting as guests and witnesses."

"I will," her aunt promised, looking at the Greengrasses. "Thank you so much for bringing the problem to our attention. I'll probably contact you tomorrow. Harry, are you all right staying here? Otherwise, Susan and I would love to welcome you into our home at any time. As soon as we can access your parents' will, we'll see whom they wanted to take care of you in any case."

"Thank you very much," Harry replied, before he turned to his hosts. "Lord and Lady Greengrass, are you sure that you don't mind having me until then?"

"We're very much sure," Jessica confirmed, giving him a warm smile that caused Harry to feel extremely happy.

"Well, then I'm going to take Harry with me for a while. I'll return him to you in an hour or two," Croaker decided, and Harry nodded in understanding.

HP

Croaker firmly gripped Harry's arm, right before the world around them began to turn around and vanished from his eyes. When the movement finally stopped, Harry found himself in an office, which was full with papers wherever he looked. At least that was his first impression. He instinctively reached out for the grey robes that Croaker handed him.

"You'll get your own, but for now, they'll have to do," he said and instructed him, "Never run around these halls without your robes. Only your closest teammates may know about your identity, and only if you really trust them."

"All right sir," Harry replied and obediently donned the robes, nodding gratefully, when Croaker shrank them to fit him with a flick of his hand.

"Come with me," Croaker instructed him and led them into a larger room, which from the equipment seemed to be a training room. However, there was a corner with tables and comfortable looking chairs, which were occupied by several people wearing the same grey robes as Croaker and himself.

"Hello everyone, this is Flash," Croaker introduced him. "He's only nine, but he's going to join us from today onwards. I need one of you to make an investigation into Gringotts. Ra, would you be willing? I suppose that I'll be able to add Flash to team 5."

"Aye," another Unspeakable replied, nodding affirmatively.

"Fetch me the will of James and Lily Potter," Croaker instructed his colleague, who merely nodded, before he vanished from the spot, soundlessly.

"That was Unspeakable Apparition," Croaker explained, smirking. "One of the first things that you're going to learn here." Turning to the only wizard, who was not wearing a cloak, he added, "Devil, I expect you to train Flash. As I said, he's only nine, he doesn't know any magic yet, and he's going to attend Hogwarts from next summer onwards."

"All right," Devil replied, before he looked at Harry. "I expect you to train hard and make your team proud. As Croaker informed us a minute ago, you're going to belong to team 5. Raros?" he addressed another Unspeakable.

"Yes Devil, I know," the person sitting next to him replied. "Welcome to team 5, Flash."

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied, uncertainly. _'How am I ever to distinguish these people if they're wearing hoods all the time?'_ he wondered. _'At least Devil isn't wearing one, and he's my trainer,_' he thought, feeling slightly relieved at the idea.

"Our team consists of five members then, you and I as well as Ra, Meta and Mento. Ra is the leader of team five, and you are to follow his instructions. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, just went Ra returned carrying a couple of papers.

"Raros and Flash, accompany us to my office," Croaker instructed them, and Harry hurried to follow the three Unspeakables into what he knew not to be Croaker's office but seemed to be the team room of team five. At least the door was decorated with a large '5'.

"Flash, would you mind your teammates knowing your identity?" Croaker enquired.

"No sir," Harry replied, positively, before he followed Croaker's instruction to take off his hood.

To his surprise, Ra and Raros took theirs off as well, and Harry noticed in surprise that Ra was a very old wizard, while Raros had about the age that Harry assumed his parents should have if they were alive. They did not tell him their real names, but Harry did not care, knowing that they would mean nothing to him.

"Well, that makes sense, considering that we're going to read your parents Will here," Ra quipped, smirking, before Croaker quickly explained to Ra and Raros about Harry's situation.

"This is not the real Will of your parents, but a copy that Ra made earlier. The original is still with Gringotts," he informed Harry, who nodded in understanding, staring at the Unspeakables in expectation.

_tbc...?_

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the first chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	3. The Unspeakables

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

**_A.N. If you missed chapter 2, which I only posted 24 hours ago, please go back and read chapter 2 first before continuing here!_**

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was just having a conversation with his most trusted colleague about the soon-to-be vacant position of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, when an alarm sounded through his office, which he had never heard before nor wanted to ever hear.

"What's that sound?" Severus enquired, quirking an eyebrow.

"The blood wards around Harry's residence seem to be coming down," the old wizard replied. "Severus, would you go over and check if they're not attacked by Death Eaters?"

Severus' expression changed to a grimace. _'Of course, he doesn't like that; he's always hated everything Potter,'_ Albus realised. "Oh well, never mind, I'll just ask Arabella Figg to check the Dursleys' house," he corrected himself and, seeing Severus nod in approval, leaned into the fireplace to contact the Squib.

After a minute, the alarm stopped, and a short while later, Arabella's head appeared in the fireplace.

"Albus, everything is quiet here, and the Dursleys aren't even at home; their car is gone," the Squib reported.

"Thanks Arabella," Albus replied, contentedly, "please keep me updated if anything out of the order occurs."

"You mean apart from how the Dursleys treat poor little Harry?" Arabella asked, sharply.

"Yes, my dear. You know that he must live with his relatives," the headmaster replied in the nicest grandfatherly voice he could muster, before he closed the connection.

HP

Harry listened with interest, when Croaker began to read his parents' will.

_'This is the last will of Lily Potter, née Evans, and James Potter.  
If you are reading this, we should be dead, probably because Peter Pettigrew, who is our Secret Keeper, betrayed us to Voldemort.  
We leave all our belongings to our Baby Harry, apart from a monthly stipend of 1000 Galleons for our good friend Remus Lupin. His godfather Sirius Black is to raise Harry in our stead. If he is unavailable for some reason, our friend Alice Longbottom shall care for Harry. If she is not available either, Harry shall be raised by our good friend Amelia Bones or by Remus Lupin. Under no circumstances shall Harry be given to his horrible muggle aunt, Petunia Dursley, and her even worse husband._

_Harry, please know that we love you very much and wish you a happy life. We are sure that Sirius AKA Padfoot will be a wonderful father to you._

_Lily and James Potter'_

"That mongrel," Ra blurted out, seemingly angered.

"Slowly Ra, we don't know what really happened," Croaker cautioned the old wizard.

"Perhaps he's innocent. I don't think that he had as much as a trial," Raros spoke up, seeming equally annoyed, even if Harry did not know why. "Harry," Raros then turned to him, "as it said in the will, Sirius is your godfather. However, after Peter Pettigrew seems to have betrayed your parents and sold them out to the Dark Lord, Sirius was framed for it. He's also said to have killed Pettigrew along with thirteen muggles, probably to avenge the Potters. Possibly, that's not true either, because I know for a fact that my brother wasn't able to harm a fly, at least not willingly, reckless as he was."

"Your brother?" Harry asked in a small voice, not really able to follow the conversation.

"I'm Regulus Black, and Sirius is my brother. Don't tell anyone about me, though, because I'm supposed to be dead," Raros added in a firm voice.

"They both are my grandsons, but no one is supposed to know about my presence here either," Ra continued, only to add, "for the same reasons."

"All right sir," Harry promised.

"Raros," Croaker spoke up in apparent determination. "While Ra and I do the formalities with Flash, you go into the ministry and firstly, file the emancipation of Harry Potter. Then, point two, do take a look at the file of Sirius Black. If it's not one hundred percent evident that he has killed those muggles and Pettigrew, we're going to fetch him here for questioning under truth serum."

"Understood, thanks Croaker," Raros replied and, donning his robes again, swiftly left the room.

Harry had to sign a couple of parchments and had to swear an oath to keep the Unspeakables' secrets to himself and to follow their rules. He carefully spoke the words that Croaker slowly whispered to him. When he said the last words, "So mote it be," his whole body glowed golden for an instant, making Croaker and Ra stare at him in obvious surprise.

"Oh Merlin, your magic must be very strong," Ra uttered, only to add, "You're my great nephew by the way. Your grandmother Dorea Potter was my sister."

Harry stared at the older wizard with mixed feelings. His experiences with relatives were not the best, however, it was good to know that he had more relatives, who were much friendlier than the Dursleys and magical at that.

"I'm glad to get to know you, sir," he replied, smiling.

"I'm not a sir, you may call me Uncle Arcturus, only in private though. Outside of this room, I am just Ra, just like you are Flash and not Harry."

Harry nodded in understanding. He was almost disappointed, when Raros did not return, before Croaker decided that it was time to take him back to the Greengrasses.

"They're probably worried about you. Tomorrow, one of us, possibly Raros, is going to fetch you at nine o'clock in the morning," he informed him. "First thing that we're going to do then is make a wand for you."

_'A wand,_' Harry thought in excitement. _'How cool is that?'_

"Thank you, sir, and thank you so much for everything," he replied, gratefully, before he said good night to his great uncle and firmly held on to Croaker's arm.

HP

While Croaker spoke with their parents, Daphne and Astoria eagerly questioned Harry about his experiences with the Unspeakables.

"Are you emancipated now?" Astoria enquired.

Harry shrugged. "I suppose so. I don't know. I had to sign many papers and make an oath."

"What oath?" Daphne asked in apparent concern. "On your magic?"

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, but I've no idea. I just did as they told me. I suppose that I can rely on them. They only took me in, because they wanted to help me."

"Well, yes, I suppose so," Daphne hesitantly agreed.

"So, you're a real Unspeakable now?" Astoria asked in apparent excitement.

"I think so," Harry replied, smiling, showing the girls his Unspeakable robes, which Raros had instructed him to keep in the pocket of his trousers. "I've no idea how these fit into my pocket, but somehow they do," he said in amazement.

"That's magic," Daphne informed him. "There probably is a charm on them to fit into the smallest pocket. When you take them off, you probably don't want anyone to know that you're an Unspeakable."

"You know," Astoria added, grinning broadly, "magic is absolutely cool. What did they make you do by the way?"

"Astoria!" Daphne scolded her sister, while Harry was still contemplating how to respond. "Harry just told us that they made him swear an oath. He can't tell us anything about the Unspeakables."

"No, I can't," Harry confirmed. "But everyone is very nice to me, just like everyone here was, so I'm really happy. Thank you so much for changing my life for the better, Daphne and Astoria. I will never forget, what you did for me by inviting me." _'I've never been allowed to talk so much before,'_ he realised, as he cast the girls a genuine smile, which both girls returned, seeming equally happy for him.

Harry's happiness still continued, when Jessica Greengrass led him into the guest room instructing him to make himself comfortable in the large, comfortable looking bed. The thought _'I'm not supposed to sleep in a bed'_ popped up in his mind, however, Astoria, who snuck into his room, as soon as her mother had left, managed to completely destroy his worries.

"Good night, Harry, sleep well and know that I'm really very happy to have you here," she gushed and, before Harry knew what happened, the nine-year-old placed a hushed kiss onto his cheek.

"Good night, Astoria," Harry replied in total confusion at the girl's affection. "Thank you so much for everything."

"You're welcome," the girl replied, before she swiftly left the room and quietly closed the door.

HP

At seven o'clock on Sunday morning, Croaker lowered himself into the seat behind his desk, yawning. '_I could as well add a bedroom to my office,_' he thought, '_considering that it was only five hours ago that I returned home._'

He was just about to review the matter with Harry Potter and his godfather Sirius, who was just being fetched from Azkaban by Meta and Mento, when Sphinx entered his room.

"Croaker, Dumbledore's office is live on channel six. It might interest you," the old wizard announced.

"Thanks," Croaker returned and swiftly followed his college into the watch room that was full with screens monitoring a few select places within the magical world. Eight years ago, he had placed monitoring runes in Albus Dumbledore's office. Whenever Harry's name was mentioned in the office, it would trigger a video to be displayed in the watch room, where one of the Unspeakables was always waiting for any displays of interest to occur.

After he had taken Harry back to the Greengrasses the previous evening, he had already viewed a memory of Dumbledore realising that the blood wards around the Dursley residence went down. The old wizard had not seen fit to do much about it – much to Croaker's relief.

The scene of this video was live though. He saw Molly Weasley and Albus Dumbledore having a conversation and swiftly restarted the memory.

**_Beginning of memory_**

"Albus," Molly Weasley greeted the headmaster in apparent excitement, "I have news concerning Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Dumbledore enquired in obvious bewilderment. "He's safe with his muggle relatives, and no one is supposed to have any news about him whatsoever."

Molly shook her head. "No Albus, yesterday, all children of the members of the Great Alliance between eight and ten were invited to one of the Greengrass girls' birthday party, and Harry was there as well," she blurted out.

_'Shit,'_ Croaker thought in annoyance at the trouble that the red headed bitch caused him.

"Did the Greengrasses invite him?" Albus enquired, sternly.

"I don't know," Molly replied, shrugging. "I was just very surprised to hear that. My daughter was crying all evening, because the boy seemed not at all what it said in the books."

"Ah Molly, I'm sure that she'll come around," Dumbledore said in a soothing voice. "It's still some years for the betrothal contract to activate."

_'The what?'_ Croaker thought, before he decided to act upon hearing Dumbledore's parting words.

"Well, thanks for alerting me, Molly, I'm going to floo to the Greengrasses to enquire about the matter," Dumbledore decided, dismissing the talkative witch.

_End of memory_

Croaker swiftly entered the time room. Standing on the travel spot, which was a clear glass plate with a large board on the wall beside it, he pointed his wand at the writing _'1 hour back'_ and mumbled, "Activate."

Checking his arrival time _'26 May, 1990, 6:12 a.m.',_ he nodded contentedly, before he returned to his office and stepped into the fireplace, stating, "Greengrass Manor."

HP

When he climbed out of the fireplace, a house-elf was awaiting him, bowing deeply.

"I is Tanny, Mr. Unspeakable. Lord and Lady Greengrass are still in their private rooms, sir," the elf informed him.

"Would you please tell them that I must urgently speak with either of them concerning Harry Potter and Professor Dumbledore?" Croaker requested in a no-nonsense voice that made the elf comply immediately.

Tanny returned a moment later and led him into the parlour, where he nursed a cup of tea, before Cygnus arrived after a few minutes later, dressed in a dark blue bath robe.

"Croaker," he greeted him, sounding alert. "Did something happen because of Harry?"

"Yes," Croaker confirmed and told the man about the conversation that he had witnessed earlier.

"Molly Weasley gave us out," Cygnus repeated, angrily. "That means that we're going to exclude their children from further activities with our children, Harry and the other kids of the Great Alliance."

"That sounds like a good plan," Croaker agreed, "however, it doesn't suffice. I'm going to take Harry with me right away, and you should talk to your family and prepare them for Dumbledore's impending visit. He should be here not later than in an hour."

Cygnus nodded in understanding. He called for Tanny and instructed her to wake up Harry and bring him to the parlour. "What about Harry?" he enquired. "Can he not stay with us for the time being?"

"I shall contact you later on. Today is going to be an eventful day, and I suppose that we're going to have a session of the Wizengamot as soon as tomorrow morning," Croaker informed the man, just when Harry entered the room.

"Good morning, Harry," Croaker was the first to greet the boy. "I'm sorry for coming three hours earlier than agreed, but Dumbledore found out about you being here, and he'll come to try to retrieve you and probably take you back to your relatives in about an hour. Still, I suppose that you can return here in the evening."

"Of course," Cygnus added, "Harry, you'll always be welcome here, just for now, it's safer if you go with Croaker."

"I understand sir," Harry replied, returning the older wizard's smile. "Thank you for everything, and I hope that I'll be able to come back tonight."

HP

_'I wonder how Dumbledore found out that I was here,'_ Harry thought in confusion, as he firmly held on to Croaker's arm like he had learned to do on the previous day.

Only when they safely arrived in the head Unspeakable's office, did he voice his question.

"Molly Weasley, the mother of two redheads, a boy and a girl, who attended the party yesterday, informed Dumbledore," Croaker replied, and Harry realised that the man's voice was laced with anger.

To his relief, he realised soon that the anger was not directed at him. '_That must be the mother of the boy who asked the weird questions,'_ he thought. _'They were a bit strange and not very nice.'_

"Now let's go and have breakfast first," Croaker suggested, pleasantly, and Harry followed him to the training room, where they joined a few other Unspeakables in the corner with the tables and chairs.

"Tap your wand against the table and think of what you wish for breakfast," the man, whom Croaker had introduced the previous evening as Devil, the trainer, instructed him. "This place connects to the ministry canteen, and the elves are capable of just making anything."

"I don't have a wand, sir," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Try using your hand," Croaker told him, and Harry hesitantly tapped his right hand against the table, wishing for the breakfast, which he received at the Dursleys on a lucky day.

Devil stared at the small piece of toast with jam in apparent disbelief, and, while Harry could not see the other Unspeakables' expressions due to their hoods, Croaker let out an angry hiss before tapping his own wand against the table in front of Harry. An instant later, a full English breakfast appeared right in front of the boy, causing Harry to look at it, wide-eyed.

"This is what we call breakfast, Flash," Croaker informed him.

"Thank you, sir," Harry replied, feeling somehow relieved, when the head Unspeakable sat next to him and ordered the same breakfast for himself, before he motioned for him to eat.

_'If the Dursleys knew of this,'_ Harry thought in amusement, as he thoroughly enjoyed the best breakfast, which he had ever eaten.

When Harry let his fork sink, certain that he would not be able to stomach any more of the delicious meal, Croaker rose from his chair.

"Flash, let's go and see to it that you get a wand," he told him.

Together, they left the training room and headed to the team room of team five, where Ra and Raros were already present, seemingly engrossed in a conversation. Harry slowly pulled his hood off, seeing that the older wizards were not wearing them either.

"Ra, Raros, please see to it that a few drops of blood are taken from Harry for the wand and some research as well," Croaker instructed his colleagues. "I need to pay the Dursleys a short visit."

"Aye boss," Ra was the first to respond and walked over to Harry, while Croaker vanished from the sight without as much as a sound.

HP

_'Scumbags,_' Croaker thought, as he approached the Dursley residence. Not bothering to do as much as ring the bell, he swiftly allowed himself inside and headed straight into the kitchen, where he found the muggles gathered around the kitchen table, letting out shrieks of fear at his sight.

Not willing to lower his hood, Croaker addressed them. "I just wanted to let you know that Harry is visiting a friend, a magical friend at that," he emphasized, before adding, "and I wanted to leave a thank you gift for you for raising Harry so well."

Before the Dursleys could reply, he wandlessly cast a disillusionment charm at himself that made the muggles think that he had disappeared already. Since he had placed runes all over the house ever since the boy had been taken in by his relatives, he knew his way around the house well, and he knew everything that had happened in this house during the last eight years. Unfortunately, Harry had been too small for him or his colleagues to do anything for him at an earlier time.

He cast a spell at the muggles that ensured that they would tell everyone who asked that Harry had gone to visit a friend and would be back later. Nodding contentedly, he proceeded to the small cupboard under the stairs and, from the residue of magic in the small place, he conjured a ghost, which looked exactly like Harry and would accompany Petunia Dursley in her house, as long as she lived. _'She can even move houses, and Ghost Harry will still be there,_' he thought, feeling very much contented with his small revenge at the little boy's tormentors. Before leaving for good, he cast another spell at the muggles that ensured that they would not be able to speak with anyone about the ghost that would be invisible to any muggles apart from the Dursleys.

When he returned to team room 5, he realised with a combination of surprise and concern that the five team members were sitting around their small table in apparent shock.

"What happened?" he enquired, causing his five colleagues to stare at him, wide-eyed.

_tbc...?_

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._

_The names of the Unspeakables are taken from my own story "What if Lily was not muggleborn"._


	4. The Wizengamot

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Croaker, did you know that Harry here is the owner of Hogwarts?" Ra was the first to speak up.

Croaker stared at the old wizard in disbelief. "Is he? And why would that be?" he enquired. _'We'd surely have known if that was the case,'_ he thought, not feeling overly impressed by the implication.

"From his blood sample, it's evident that he's the heir of all four founders of Hogwarts," Raros informed him.

"I thought that his mother was muggleborn," Croaker said, quirking an eyebrow at his colleagues. "What exactly does this change though?" he thought aloud.

"That Harry could dismiss Dumbledore as headmaster," Ra spoke up, grinning.

Croaker rolled his eyes. "Yes, sure, considering how much he knows about the magical world," he scoffed. "Meta and Mento, how did things go with Sirius Black?"

"He's currently in a ministry holding cell," Meta supplied, changing her brown hair to bright pink. "We've alerted Amelia Bones, and she's just organising a Wizengamot meeting for tomorrow morning."

Croaker nodded, contentedly. "I shall contact her. Harry as well as the other children from the families of the Great Alliance should sit in the audience as witnesses. It was them who stood up against Dumbledore by contacting Harry in the first place," he added as an afterthought.

"Madam Bones said as much," Meta confirmed. "According to her, the whole thing seems to have been the idea of Daphne and Astoria Greengrass."

HP

Harry immediately liked the two members of his team, whom he had not met on the previous day. Meta was a young Auror, who was not only funny but also a Metamorphmagus and could change her features as she pleased. She surprised him greatly by changing into a twin of himself.

Mento was a bit older than Raros, and Harry learned that his real name was Fabian Prewitt and that he was also supposed to be dead, just like Ra and Raros. He was also very nice to Harry.

His colleagues had been strangely agitated upon researching a drop of his blood, and Ra had patiently explained that his father was supposed to be a pure-blood wizard, but that it was not common knowledge that he had been the heir of the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family. Equally, everyone had believed that his mother was muggleborn, while, in fact, she had been a pureblood witch, the heiress of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family. This was a huge surprise, even to the Unspeakables, who knew many things that were secrets in the magical world. While Harry still wondered what could be so special about it, Ra continued, "Being the heir of all four founders of Hogwarts makes you the owner of Hogwarts."

From the conversations of the other children on the previous day, Harry already knew that Hogwarts was the school for magic, which he was going to attend in about fifteen months' time together with all his new friends. _'And the school belongs to me?'_ he wondered in disbelief.

"Excuse me, sir," he spoke up in confusion, "what exactly does that mean?"

"Necessarily," Ra was the first to respond, "that doesn't mean anything. However, it would allow you to, for example, dismiss the headmaster or any other professor if they did their job poorly."

Everyone was still staring at him in surprise, when Croaker returned and was quickly filled in by the others.

"Croaker," Harry spoke up, once Meta had reported to the head Unspeakable about Sirius Black and the impending Wizengamot meeting, whatever that was, "you didn't do anything to the Dursleys, did you?"

To his surprise, Croaker chuckled. "No Harry, I didn't do anything to them," he confirmed, reassuringly. "I merely cast a spell at them that makes them tell anyone who asks about you that you just went to visit a friend. I'm quite certain that Professor Dumbledore is going to visit them later today to enquire about you."

"Oh, all right, thank you, sir," Harry replied, feeling slightly relieved that the Unspeakable, who had seemed so very upset at the Dursleys the previous day, had not physically harmed them. "At least they raised me," he added upon realising that everyone looked at him in clear surprise at his relief.

"They did a piss poor job at it though, great nephew," Ra growled. "You deserved better treatment like the one they gave you."

_'He's speaking up for me,'_ Harry thought in surprise, feeling very happy at the idea of having a magical relative who appeared to not dislike him.

HP

While, on Croaker's instruction, Meta and Raros took Harry to his vault at Gringotts and afterwards to Diagon Alley shopping, Daphne and Astoria fire called the friends, who had participated in Daphne's birthday party, minus the Weasley children, and invited them over.

"We're sorry to invite you on such a short notice," Daphne spoke up, "but we wanted to meet with you to discuss the trial against Albus Dumbledore, which is going to take place as soon as tomorrow."

"I hope they're going to acknowledge that the wrackspurts are clouding his brain," Luna spoke up, wearing a dreamy expression.

"They surely will," Astoria replied, eagerly. "The question is whom we want as headmaster if they sack Dumbledore tomorrow."

"What about your mum, Luna?" Neville enquired. "I know that she's working as a Potions Mistress, but my Gran told me that she's very nice."

Luna cast the older boy a soft smile. "I'd love Mum to take up any other position, as I always fear for her if she does dangerous experiments. I don't know if she'd like to become headmistress though. Where are Ginny and Ron by the way? They were here yesterday."

"They gave us out to Dumbledore," Astoria growled, wearing a grim expression. "Their mother went to Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore that we invited Harry yesterday. So, we've decided to not invite them anymore."

Everyone seemed to agree, even Luna, and they quickly returned to the topic at hand.

"I'd love for Auntie to take up any other position, too" Susan spoke up, sombrely. "Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is quite a dangerous job, too."

"She'll make a wonderful headmistress," Luna agreed. "Just tell Harry to suggest her for the job."

"Do you think the Wizengamot is going to listen to Harry?" Padma enquired.

"They just will," Luna promised, shrugging, causing Daphne to wonder if the younger girl was a Seer.

To her relief, everyone seemed to agree on suggesting Amelia Bones as headmistress.

"I wonder," Astoria spoke up, "if we should write a letter to the Wizengamot and ask our Dad to read it at the beginning of the discussion?"

"Let's do that," Daphne agreed, even if only half-heartedly, thinking that her younger sister was much more courageous than herself. "Would you all be willing to sign it though?" she enquired, causing everyone to voice their agreement.

"Just put all of our names at the bottom, so that we don't have to sign it," Susan suggested.

The sisters promised to write the letter to the Wizengamot, and their friends swiftly returned home, knowing that they were going to meet again in the morning for the Wizengamot meeting.

Neither of the Greengrass sisters were aware of the fact that their parents had already invited all members of the Great Alliance minus Molly and Arthur Weasley for later the same evening to discuss the same topic.

HP

"Daphne," Astoria addressed her sister, when they were waiting for Harry to return from the Unspeakables.

"Yes, yes, I know. All right, you dictate and I write," Daphne decided, as it was obvious what her sister wanted. She settled at her desk, pulling her quill and an empty parchment over.

"Dear members of the Wizengamot," Astoria began to dictate, "please sack Albus Dumbledore and install Amelia Bones as headmistress for Hogwarts."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Astoria, seriously, we can't write such a thing." She interrupted herself, when her mother led Harry into the room.

'_Thank Merlin,'_ she thought. _'Maybe it'll be easier to set something up with Tori if Harry's with us.'_

Together, the three children drafted the letter, and Astoria quickly brought it to her parents, who were just entertaining their friends' parents. "Dad, we want you to read this in front of the Wizengamot for us," she instructed her father, causing everyone to laugh and smile at the eager girl and Cygnus to read the letter to his audience.

HP

Early the following morning, the Greengrass family plus Harry assembled in front of the fireplace to take the Floo to the ministry of magic.

Harry felt uncertain about meeting Professor Dumbledore. '_He doesn't know that he's not my guardian anymore,'_ he thought. _'He's also the one who wanted me to live with the Dursleys.'_ On the other hand, he felt very much reassured by the fact that he was accompanied by two very protective girls and their parents and that his four Unspeakable colleagues and Croaker had promised to meet him at the ministry of magic.

The adults had to hand in their wands, which made Harry recall the question of what ingredients to use for his wand. His colleagues had cast several spells at him to find out which ingredients would fit him most, however, while they had quickly been able to find that the lichens, which had been harvested at Hogwarts a decade ago, were most fitting as floral ingredient, they had not been able to determine an animal fitting for him. Finally, they had postponed the discussion until after the Wizengamot meeting.

_'They also advised me to go to Gringotts and meet my account manager. So strange that I've got so many things to do, while in my whole life so far I had nothing to do but cook and clean and go to school,' _he mused.

Cygnus led them to one of the elevators, and Harry stared at his surroundings in surprise. The elevators were full with people, who were all but running in and out like mad, and letters in the form of tiny birds were flying around very busybody-like. _'What a busy place,'_ he thought in amazement.

"The children of the alliance are allowed to sit in the visitors' gallery," Cygnus informed them, before he separated from them to take his seat on the Wizengamot, while Jessica accompanied them to the gallery.

To Harry's relief, Daphne and Astoria proceeded to sit on both sides of him, so that he felt very much reassured, even if Croaker and Cygnus had both told him that he would probably be asked as a witness. The other children arrived right on time, and everyone greeted him warmly. Luna even placed a small kiss on his cheek and wished him good luck.

_'At least I don't feel out of place with my new robes,'_ Harry thought, as he waited for the Wizengamot session to begin. _'It's so nice to have my own clothes. They're not only new and clean but also fit much better,'_ he thought, when he was brought back to reality, as the Wizengamot session commenced.

HP

Dumbledore, as the Chief Warlock, opened the session. "Amelia Bones has called for this meeting, and as I have no idea what it is about, I call upon Amelia Bones to speak."

Instead of Amelia, however, Cygnus Greengrass stood and was recognised by Dumbledore.

"Dear fellow members of the Wizengamot," Cygnus began to speak, "the children of the members of the Great Alliance have written a letter to us and asked me to read it to you."

Noticing that everyone nodded in consent, he began to read.

"Dear members of the Wizengamot, dear Minister of Magic, since our parents did not dare to invite Harry Potter, although we all wanted to meet him for years now, we decided to take matters into our own hands and invited him to a birthday party the day before yesterday."

Observing how Dumbledore's expression turned to clear anger, he continued, "To our shock, we had to realise that Harry has been at least verbally abused and neglected by his muggle relatives. He was wearing much too large castoff clothes, and he did not even know that he was a wizard let alone anything else about the magical world. We're all going to attend Hogwarts in a year or two," Cygnus continued to read, "and we don't want to have a headmaster who tolerates child abuse and forbids us to meet with our future classmates, when we want to meet them and be friends with them. Dear members of the Wizengamot, please accept our wish and provide us with a better headmaster or headmistress."

Someone chuckled, however, Cygnus decided to ignore the interruption and continued, "We suggest Amelia Bones as new headmistress. Signed, the children of the Great Alliance, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Lavender Brown, Tracey Davis, Fay Dunbar, Seamus Finnegan, Sue Li, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ernie Macmillan, Parvati und Padma Patil, Harry Potter and Daphne and Astoria Greengrass."

"Very well written," Augusta Longbottom spoke up, "and I second the motion."

"Me too," Amos Diggory agreed, "and I commend the kids for being able and willing to do something that we adults were too cowardly to do."

"I'd like to extend the matter to Albus Dumbledore's other positions as well," Amelia Bones said in a grave voice. "I call Head Unspeakable Croaker to show us some evidence."

Harry looked up, smiling, when Croaker stepped into the room, where the Wizengamot was assembled. He set up a strange device, of which he had already learned that it was a Pensieve, in the middle of the table and made memories float over it for everyone to view.

Only now realising that the memories were those of his own childhood with the Dursleys, Harry felt very self-conscious and was utterly relieved, when Astoria and Daphne both placed their hands on his arms and cast him reassuring smiles. Together with his new friends, Harry re-lived some of the worst parts of his childhood, and he was more than relieved, when Croaker stopped the memories.

"We, the Unspeakables, believe that Albus Dumbledore is not only an unfit guardian let alone headmaster, but should immediately resign from all positions, and I leave it to the Wizengamot to decide on further penalties for his misconduct."

Finally, Dumbledore rose from his chair. "Dear members of the Wizengamot, dear children," he addressed the guests in the gallery, "unfortunately, it is not as simple. All decisions, which I made for Harry Potter, I made for the Greater Good, and…"

"Like the decision to seal the Potters' will and not inform anyone that Sirius Black was supposed to be Harry's guardian?" someone interrupted him in a strict voice.

"That's Cornelius Fudge, the minister of magic," Astoria whispered to Harry, who nodded his thanks and curiously observed the minister.

"Yes, that was for the Greater Good as well, and Sirius Black is a criminal and as such not a suitable guardian, even if he wasn't locked away in Azkaban," Dumbledore replied in a grandfatherly voice, which Harry found very suspicious.

"For Harry, it was and still is very important to live with his relatives, as there are blood wards around the Dursley residence that guarantee his safety," Dumbledore continued.

"It has come to my attention that Sirius Black appears to not be a criminal, even if he was originally framed by Chief Warlock Dumbledore," the minister spoke up again, "and he has been granted a trial right after a decision has been made concerning Albus Dumbledore."

"First of all though, I believe that we still need to question Harry Potter about his safety with his so-called family." Amelia Bones spoke up. "Harry, please come forward."

"Don't worry, it's all right," Astoria whispered to him. "They're all on your side."

Harry nervously stepped over to where Amelia Bones was standing, giving her a curious look.

"Harry, I don't want to question you about any bad memories," Amelia addressed him. "I believe that we saw enough earlier. Just let me ask some simple questions."

Harry nodded, unconsciously playing with the tiny stuffed teddy in his robe pocket that Astoria had given him before heading to the ministry.

"Harry, have you known Albus Dumbledore before today?"

"No, Madame," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Has he never visited you and checked on you?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't think so," he replied, unsurely.

"Did you know about magic before Daphne's party?"

"No," Harry denied, shaking his head. "The Dursleys always told me there was no such thing as magic."

"Did they punish you when you performed accidental magic, something that happens to all magical children?" Amelia enquired.

Harry nodded his head. "Yes, Madame," he replied in a barely audible voice.

"Would you like to live with someone else, perhaps in the magical world?"

"Yes please," Harry replied, his so far dark expression brightening greatly.

"That's fine, Harry. Please return to your seat," Amelia instructed him.

"Harry," Dumbledore suddenly addressed him in his soft, grandfatherly voice that Harry had already disliked earlier, making him stop in his tracks. "Please tell us that the memories, which we have seen earlier, are fake. You must know that your relatives love you very much, considering that they've raised you together with their own son."

Harry was stunned for a moment, before he recalled Astoria telling him that he should not be intimidated but tell the truth if asked strange questions. "My relatives hate me," Harry replied in a firm voice, his eyes searching the spot, where the Greengrass sisters were sitting next to Luna and Susan. Each of them was giving him a reassuring smile.

When Harry returned to his seat between the sisters, Amelia Bones began to question Albus Dumbledore, however, Harry tuned everything out. '_Now I can only wait for the meeting to end, and I hope it ends well. I just want to remain with my friends,'_ he thought.

He looked up, when he heard a strange sound. "Hem hem." A witch wearing pink robes stood and stated, "Harry Potter clearly is an attention seeking brat. The word of a child should not be taken seriously and above all, it should not cost an upstanding member of our society a position let alone multiple functions," she said, accusingly.

"Harry Potter is everything else but attention-seeking," Cygnus spoke up, glaring at the pink-robed witch.

Amelia Bones apparently decided to ignore the pink witch's statement and asked the members to vote. Successively, Albus Dumbledore was stripped of all of his functions and on top of it charged with a five-year stay in Azkaban for ignoring of child abuse and forcing Harry into an abusive situation.

When the Aurors, however, stepped over to the former head of the Wizengamot, the old wizard transformed into a phoenix and flashed away in a bright flash.

HP

During the uproar following the former Chief Warlock's conviction and escape, the Unspeakables brought Sirius Black into the chamber, and the next trial began right away.

Just when Amelia Bones set to explain what had come to her attention due to the Unspeakables' research, a large bird appeared in a bright flash and settled down on Harry's left shoulder.

_'Dumbledore,'_ Harry realised in shock, helplessly turning around to where his colleagues were standing.

_tbc...?_

_Sorry for the cliffy... Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	5. Phoenixes

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

* * *

Just when Harry was about to panic, realising that everyone was staring at him in apparent shock, another phoenix appeared in a flash kicking the first one off Harry's shoulder with both feet, before he flapped his wings and nestled on the boy's right shoulder. The other phoenix remained on the floor struggling to get back onto his feet.

The new phoenix began to let out a series of fierce trills, and suddenly, Harry felt that he was able to understand them as words.

#Leave the nestling in peace, you idiot. Is it not enough that you drove me away? I've already bonded with the nestling, so wherever you attempt to take him, I'm going to bring him back. You better leave this instant, before Harry alerts the Aurors. He understands my babbling.#

The other phoenix returned a few trills, which Harry could not comprehend.

"The phoenix on the floor is Dumbledore, can you tell someone please?" he whispered to Daphne, while the two phoenixes were carrying out a verbal fight.

Before the girl could get help, however, two Unspeakables stepped in front of Harry, and the phoenix from the ground in front of his seat flashed away in a bright flash.

#Don't worry, I'm Fawkes, his former familiar. I've just bonded with you, little one,# the remining bird trilled, causing Harry to look at the beautiful phoenix in amazement.

"Harry, is that Dumbledore?" Astoria hissed, urgently.

"No, the other phoenix was Dumbledore. This is Fawkes, Dumbledore's former familiar," Harry explained, smiling. He said he just bonded with me."

"Oh Merlin, bonded with a phoenix," Daphne blurted out. "You're really lucky, Harry."

"Do you feel any different?" Luna enquired, wearing a dreamy look.

"I somehow feel very happy," Harry admitted, causing the blonde girl to cast him a knowing smile.

"That's because of the bonding," she reassured him. "You're really lucky, Harry, but you deserve it."

"Thanks," Harry replied, smiling, when he realised that Fawkes turned his head to him in a manner that made him automatically pet the bird's crown feathers, noticing through the bond that Fawkes was very satisfied as well.

#Thanks, that felt good,# Fawkes informed him. #As I'm drawing too much attention here, I'm going to watch from over there,# he continued, and Harry realised in amusement that the phoenix chose one of the torches at the side of the Wizengamot chamber to make himself comfortable.

HP

Finally realising that his godfather's trial was already in full swing, Harry quickly returned his attention back to the Wizengamot, where Sirius Black was just being questioned by Amelia Bones under Veritaserum. The Unspeakables had explained to him what the potion did, and even if he could not understand everything that was talked about due to his lack of knowledge about the magical world, Harry knew that the man who had to be his godfather could not lie under the influence of the potion.

In the end, Sirius Black was declared a free man, and the minister of magic called for a break, announcing that after the break, they still had to fill all of Dumbledore's former positions.

Before Harry knew what happened, his godfather was at his side, pulling him into a bear hug. Harry tried hard to not flinch too badly at the touch, however, to his relief, his godfather was so enthusiastic about being free and meeting him that he did not notice his reaction.

"Harry and everyone here, I can't thank you enough for what you did for me," the former prisoner blurted out, gratefully accepting the chair next to Daphne that Jessica vacated for him. "Eight years in that hellhole," he continued, "only the thought of you, Harry, kept me sane. I'm here for you now, Harry. You can live with me."

"I'm glad you're out now," Harry replied, smiling. Somehow, he immediately liked the man, whom his parents had chosen to take care of him in their stead.

HP

Finally, the minister of magic called the session to order again, and Amos Diggory was voted to become Dumbledore's successor as head of the Wizengamot.

"That's good. He's nice, and he has a son, Cedric, who's also very nice and already at Hogwarts," Astoria informed Harry in a whisper. "They're also in the Alliance."

"All right," Harry whispered back, "thanks."

When the discussion turned to fill the position of the headmaster for Hogwarts, Unspeakable Croaker once again stepped into the chamber and spoke up.

"Harry Potter is the heir of all four founders of Hogwarts and as such the owner of Hogwarts," he stated, causing huge uproar.

"His mother was a mudblood whore. Everyone knows that," a wizard with long, blonde hair sneered, "so that's not possible."

"That's Lucius Malfoy, the evilest wizard alive apart from the one who killed your parents," Astoria informed Harry. "He has a son, Draco, who's going to be in our year at Hogwarts," Daphne added. "He's an absolute nightmare."

"According to a blood test," Croaker continued, "Lily Evans Potter was not a muggleborn but a pureblood witch and the heiress of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family." Pointing his wand at the Pensieve, he made a piece of parchment appear above it that displayed Harry's genealogy, clearly showing that he was the heir not only to the Potter family but also to the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw and to the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family.

"As the owner of Hogwarts, I believe that it's Harry's right to choose a new headmaster or headmistress," Croaker said, before he motioned Harry to come into the chamber once more.

"Hem hem," the witch in the pink robes rose from her chair and began to speak. "I'm sure you all agree with me that a nine-year-old child, especially one who's been raised by muggles, isn't competent at all to decide on the headmaster's position of Britain's most important magical school. As I said earlier, he's nothing more than an attention seeking brat."

"Dolores, please keep your tongue in check," the minister spoke up before turning to Harry.

"Harry Potter, do you know what we're talking about?" he enquired, giving Harry a sharp look.

"Of course, sir," Harry confirmed. "We, the children of the Great Alliance, have discussed the matter beforehand, and we would like to ask Madam Amelia Bones to become the headmistress of Hogwarts."

"I second the idea," Cygnus was the first to react.

"Amelia will make a wonderful headmistress," Augusta Longbottom agreed, smiling.

_'She must be Neville's grandmother,'_ Harry realised, casting a warm smile at the old lady.

"Amelia," Amos Diggory as the new head of the Wizengamot asked, "will you accept the position?"

Amelia rose from her chair. "I accept the position." After a small pause, she continued, "I wish Sirius Black to become my successor as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and until he's recovered from his unjustly stay in Azkaban and will be ready to do so, Ex-Auror Alastor Moody will fill in. Of course, I didn't have the opportunity to ask him yet, but I'm sure that he'll help Sirius and me in this matter."

"Very well, now that this is decided, we shall discuss the next topic, a new guardian for Harry Potter," Diggory spoke again, causing Harry, who was just on his way back to his seat, to stop dead in his tracks.

_'I'm an adult, but they can't know that I work for the Unspeakables,'_ he thought, when everyone's attention was diverted to Fawkes.

#Harry has recently become an adult in the magical world, and as the owner of Hogwarts, he may reside in the founders' quarters at the school,# the phoenix trilled, pleasantly, only to add, #Harry, please translate.#

Harry obediently translated the trills into normal English, before he returned to his seat, sighing in relief, when he managed to escape the general attention. Turning to Sirius, who had invited Harry to live with him during the earlier break, he asked, "Mr. Black, are you going to come live with me?"

"Sure thing," his godfather replied with apparent enthusiasm. "I will, Harry, but please call me Sirius. Mr. Black was my father."

HP

When the Wizengamot meeting was over, the children agreed to meet again the following Sunday.

#You can invite them to the founders' quarters at Hogwarts,# Fawkes suggested to Harry. #You only need to get the fireplace connected, but that won't be a problem.#

Harry translated for his friends, and everyone agreed in excitement at the possibility of seeing the castle of their dreams sooner than expected.

"We'll check it out and inform you of the name of the fireplace," Amelia spoke up, as she approached the group that surrounded Harry and Sirius. "Susan, I believe that I must go to Hogwarts and present myself as the headmistress right away," she addressed her niece, causing Harry to smile.

"Susan could accompany Sirius and me to the founders' quarters," he suggested.

Amelia cast him a pensive look. "Please ask Fawkes to take you there, and check out the living conditions and such. Afterwards, you can come to the headmistress' office. Perhaps I'll need your help, considering that my predecessor left all of a sudden."

"Of course we'll help," Susan replied, seemingly indignant.

"Of course," Harry echoed, eagerly.

"Harry," Astoria suddenly pulled him over to face her and Daphne. "You must floo call us and tell us everything as soon as you can, tonight at the latest."

"I will," Harry promised, sincerely. "I'll never forget what the two of you have done for me," he added. "Thank you so very much."

"You're so very welcome," Daphne whispered, while Astoria pulled him into a light hug.

As soon as she released him, Luna stepped over, placing a kiss onto his cheek. "Please contact me, too, Harry," she said, giving him a dreamy look.

"Fawkes," Sirius spoke up, addressing Harry's familiar. "Can you take four people with you?"

Fawkes nodded. #That's not a problem,# he trilled, pleasantly. #Please grab my tail feathers.#

"One moment," Harry blurted out upon recalling that he was supposed to head for the Unspeakables' office. As quickly as possible, he made his way through the crowd to where his colleagues were waiting for him.

"Sorry, would it be all right for me to go to Hogwarts and check everything out before coming to work today?" he asked, shyly.

"You don't have to work today," Croaker informed him. "Come to the office at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Thank you all so much for everything," he blurted out before hurrying back to where Amelia, Sirius and Susan were waiting for him, while everyone else was slowly leaving.

#Tell everyone to grab my tail feathers,# Fawkes instructed him, and Harry quickly translated.

HP

A moment later, the world around him began to turn around in a fast movement, before the scene of the Wizengamot chamber vanished from the sight. It was a mere instant, before he could clearly see again, and he found himself next to the others in a comfortable looking living room.

His eyes widened, as he took in the size of the room. It was enormous. A large painting of two women and two men decorated one of the larger walls, while the opposite wall was occupied by a huge window front that allowed the view onto a lake with a forest in the back. Next to the painting of what Harry assumed were the four founders of Hogwarts was a large frame displaying what seemed to be a classroom_. 'Is that a painting or what is it?'_ Harry wondered, just when the scenery on display changed to what seemed to be a dining hall.

"Oh, the Great Hall," Sirius blurted out in apparent delight. "Look, Harry, everyone's just having lunch there."

Harry had not even realised that Fawkes had led a small conversation with one of the wizards in the large portrait, however, suddenly, the wizard spoke to them and introduced himself and his three colleagues as the founders of Hogwarts.

"Professor Gryffindor," Amelia addressed the man, who immediately shook his head and corrected her, "Please call me Godric."

Amelia then introduced herself at the new headmistress and Harry as the owner of Hogwarts.

"We're happy to have you all here," one of the witches spoke up, introducing herself as Rowena, before she admitted, "We've been waiting for Harry to come and visit us for several years now."

After a few minutes of talking with the founders, Harry, who had been observing the screen showing alternating images of all over the castle, noticed that the students were just vacating the Great Hall.

"Lunch must be over now," he thought aloud, causing Amelia to cast him a pensive look.

"Then I better go and inform Minerva about what happened to Albus and introduce myself as headmistress," she spoke up. "Sirius and Harry, why don't you explore these rooms, and Susan, are you going to stay with Sirius and Harry, or do you want to come with me?"

"I'll stay here, Auntie," Susan replied, smiling. "If that's all right?" she added as an afterthought, looking at Harry.

"Of course," Harry replied, happily. _'Susan is one of the nicest girls of the alliance,'_ he thought, _'almost as nice as Astoria, Luna and Daphne_.'

"Why don't you just call Minerva here?" Sirius suggested. "I'm sure she'd be happy to see Harry. She was his surrogate grandmother, before Albus carted him off to the muggles."

"Is it all right to bring other people in here?" Amelia addressed the founders in the painting.

"Yes, but only those whom you absolutely trust," Rowena replied in a firm voice.

"Rubbish," Salazar bellowed, causing Harry to look at the grumpy wizard, wide-eyed. "Only those whom Harry trusts. He's the owner of the castle and these quarters."

"Minerva is absolutely trustworthy," Sirius confirmed, giving Harry an encouraging nod.

Harry looked at Susan, questioningly, who glanced at her aunt, who nodded, smiling. Seeing Susan nod at him in apparent confirmation, Harry answered, "Madam Bones, please invite Minerva here."

"Thank you, Harry, I'll do so," Amelia replied, "and while I ask you to call me Amelia, you and Susan both must address Minerva as Professor McGonagall. She's the Transfiguration professor, Gryffindor head of house and deputy headmistress."

"All right," Susan was the first to reply.

Harry nodded his understanding and added, "Thank you for the information, Amelia."

"Harry," Helga addressed him from the painting, "please be a dear and tell the portrait, which is guarding the entrance over there," she pointed to what seemed to be the entrance door to the quarters, "to let Professor McGonagall in."

HP

While Amelia went to fetch the deputy headmistress, Harry, Susan and Sirius explored the founders' quarters, choosing bedrooms for themselves.

"I don't know if I can stay here," Susan suddenly said, pensively eyeing the bedroom next to Harry's, which was kept in different shades of pink and overseen by a very friendly witch in a portrait. "Maybe I'll need to live with Auntie in the headmistress' rooms."

"Then we'll just have to convince your Auntie to live here with us," Sirius said, pleasantly, causing the children to nod their agreement.

Once they returned to the living room, Rowena spoke up from the painting. "You should visit the Parlour, right through this door. It's the only room in the castle, where you can freely speak with Hogwarts. She probably already knows that Amelia is the new headmistress, but I can imagine that she'd love to hear what happened to Albus Dumbledore, and she can make the old connection door to the headmaster's office visible again."

Exchanging a glance with Susan, who nodded in apparent determination, Harry promised, "We'll tell her."

Before they could head to the adjacent room, however, Amelia returned with a stern looking old witch in tow, whom she introduced as Professor McGonagall.

"Harry?" the old witch enquired in apparent surprise, before her mouth stretched to a smile. "I am so happy to meet you. I always asked the headmaster to bring you to Hogwarts and let me raise you, but he insisted that you had to stay with your relatives. Do you remember the tabby cat that often sat on the wall surrounding your aunt's garden?"

"Yes?" Harry replied in surprise, his eyes widening in shock, when the professor changed into the same tabby cat, which he had often seen and petted during the weekends. "That was you?" he added, lamely. "Thank you so much for visiting me, Professor. I was always very happy to see you." _'Why did she never tell me who she was let alone about magic?'_ he wondered, until the professor continued.

"Me too, Harry," the professor assured him. "I was so worried about you, but there was nothing that I could do. He'd have fired me if he knew that I was doing as much as visit you let alone staying with you for at least a day during most weekends."

While the professor talked to Sirius, Harry tuned them out, his thoughts wandering back to his time at the Dursleys. _'They were completely wrong,'_ he realised. '_It's not true that if they hadn't taken me in, no one would have wanted me. Lots of people seem to care for me and would have offered.'_ Somehow, this realisation made him absolutely happy. He glanced at Fawkes, who was peacefully asleep on a perch in front of the founders' painting. '_I wonder why the man in the painting can understand Fawkes,'_ he thought. _'I could only understand his trills, after he bonded with me. Before, it sounded like music, just like the other phoenix', err Dumbledore's talking.'_ He decided to ask Fawkes later on.

A huge gasp coming from the professor and Sirius made him return his attention back to the conversation around him.

"You're going to sack all professors?" Sirius enquired, seemingly highly amused.

"First of all, I'll have everyone finish the school year," Amelia replied, sighing. "It's only two more weeks after all."

_tbc...?_

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	6. Hogwarts

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

* * *

The adults finally decided to relax in the comfortable looking modern sofas around a medium sized oak table, and Minerva called Malcolm, her personal house-elf, asking for tea and biscuits.

"Let me ask you one question," Amelia turned to Sirius, after having a first sip from her tea. "Have you never slept through History of Magic?"

Wide-eyed, Harry looked from one to the other, when Sirius began to laugh and admitted, between chuckles, "Always."

"A ghost is teaching History of Magic, and his classes are so boring that they're general nap time," Amelia explained to Susan and Harry. Turning to the founders in the painting, she continued, "Is there any way to take the curse off the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's position?"

"Please ask Hogwarts herself," Godric instructed her. "She'll surely be able to set it right. Otherwise, we'll come up with something."

"Amelia, do you have anyone suitable in mind for the position?" Minerva enquired. "I know for a fact that Albus was struggling to find someone every year."

"Remus," Sirius blurted out, causing the adults to stare at him in apparent surprise. "Yes, I know that he's a werewolf, but…"

"A werewolf?" Salazar hissed from his painting. "Cure him then. I didn't invent the wolvescure for nothing."

"There's a cure for lycanthropy?" Sirius asked in apparent excitement that made Harry chuckle, even if he had no idea what the older wizards were talking about.

"Yes, the recipe is in my books in the lab behind Helga's and my bathroom over there," Salazar replied, pointing in the direction of the bedrooms they had explored earlier. "I think it's written in Parselscript though." Turning to Harry, he hissed, "Harry, do can you ssspeak with snakesss?"

"I don't know, sssir," Harry hissed back in confusion, not sure what the ancient wizard was implying.

"Very well, you're my true heir," Salazar said for everyone to understand, seemingly contented.

"Excuse me, sir, is your painting charmed, so that your English is automatically adapted to the current time's language?" Minerva enquired with apparent interest.

"Of course," Rowena replied, grinning, "and it works both ways. It's no use for Parseltongue or any other language though, only for English."

"Very impressive," Amelia acknowledged. "So you're certain that we'll be able to obtain your recipe, have all the necessary ingredients in our time and will be able to brew the potion to cure a werewolf?" she asked in a no-nonsense voice.

"Yes to all questions," Salazar confirmed. "There are ingredients in my lab, which are self-refreshing and self-replenishing, and any potions master or mistress should be able to brew it."

"Well, if Remus can be cured, he'll make a brilliant professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts," Minerva conceded. "I'll contact him and invite him here. He'll surely be thrilled to see Sirius and Harry free."

Sirius cast the old witch a puppy dog look. "Please Minnie, allow me the pleasure to call Remus. Do you know if he has a fireplace?"

Minerva shook her head. "No, I'd owl him, but maybe we shouldn't tell him about the cure before we have actually had someone brew it."

"Who is the potions master at this time?" Sirius enquired.

"Severus Snape," Minerva replied, letting out a deep sigh.

"Oh great; he'd never do such a thing for Remus," Sirius assessed, causing the adults to nod their agreement.

"I think that Luna's mum is a potions mistress, isn't she?" Harry spoke up in a small voice, giving Susan a questioning look.

"Oh right," Susan agreed. "Auntie, Luna's mother is a potions mistress. I know that, because Luna told us she'd love for her mum to take on some other job, because she's always worried, when she does dangerous experiments."

Harry stared at his friend in surprise, as he had not been present for that particular conversation.

However, Amelia nodded in understanding. "Well, as soon as we have the recipe, I shall contact Pandora Lovegood and ask her to brew the potion for us."

Minerva glanced at her wristwatch. "I'm afraid that I'll have to leave now, as I have to teach the last afternoon class, and it's going to commence soon."

Turning to Sirius, Amelia enquired, "Sirius, will you, Harry and Susan please speak with Hogwarts and look for the recipe for the wolvescure? I'd like to use the next hour to acquaint myself with my new office, and Minerva, I'd like to have a staff meeting and introduce myself to our colleagues between the last afternoon class and dinner."

"I'll see to it," Minerva promised and left through the entrance door, while Amelia nodded in appreciation when Godric told her that Hogwarts had already made the old connecting door to her office visible again and pointed it out to her.

HP

When she closed the door behind herself, Harry, Susan and Sirius looked at each other.

"Let's speak with Hogwarts first," Sirius decided. "Harry, this is up to you though, as you're her owner."

"All right," Harry replied, wondering, '_How in the world can I speak to Hogwarts? She's a castle._'

He did not even have to voice his question, when Helga spoke up from the painting. "Go through this door to the Parlour. Just go and speak with Hogwarts."

"Come Harry," Susan gushed, and the two children ran through the door in excitement, slowly followed by a grinning Sirius.

"Hogwarts?" Harry asked, timidly. "Can you hear me? I'm Harry," he added as an afterthought.

"Yes my boy, I can hear you, and I'm very happy to have you here sooner than expected," the castle replied in the soft voice of a gentle old lady.

Harry looked around for a hint as to where the voice was coming from, however, there was nothing, and the room looked like just a normal room. _'It's very pretty though,'_ he thought, admiring the ceiling that looked as if he was just glancing into the sky.

"I've brought Susan, my friend," Harry finally introduced the others, hoping that it was all right for him to call Susan his friend, "and my godfather Sirius."

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Harry, Susan and Sirius," Hogwarts replied. "Sirius was part of the Marauders," she then explained, and Harry assumed that it was for his sake, "the worst mischief makers since Salazar."

"Ah Hogwarts, we weren't really that bad," Sirius spoke up, grinning. "But I'm glad that I came out of Azkaban right on time to teach my godson everything he needs to know before becoming a student here."

Ignoring Harry's and Susan's chuckling, he continued, "Hogwarts, do you think you'll be able to somehow break the curse that Voldemort placed on the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor's position?"

The castle remained quiet for a moment, before she responded. "I'm not sure. However, if you bring the new professor to my attention and Harry tells me that he wants him to remain on the position for a long time, I shall see to it. That I can do in any case."

"Thank you so much," Sirius was the first to react to what Harry assumed was good news. "First, we have to cure him from lycanthropy though."

"Oh, is it the Lupin boy?" Hogwarts enquired, her voice laced with excitement. "He was such a nice young boy. I'd love for him to become one of my professors. I've always wondered why he didn't simply take the cure instead of suffering through his transformations, but there was no way for me to help him."

After that, Harry and his companions quickly finished the conversation, promising to come to see the castle every so often, and left the Parlour to look for Salazar's library and potions lab.

An hour later, Harry translated the recipe for the wolvescure with Salazar's assistance and dictated it to Susan, who was already used to writing with a quill and scribbled everything down in a neat handwriting.

When Amelia came to fetch the three of them for dinner, she handed the recipe to her aunt.

"Oh thank Merlin, this evening has at least something good," the new headmistress breathed, causing Harry to look at her in surprise.

"What happened?" he enquired in a soft voice.

**_Beginning of flashback _**

Right after the bell signalling the end of the last afternoon class, the teachers followed Minerva's invitation to the staff room, where Amelia introduced herself as the headmistress.

"What happened to Albus?" Severus Snape enquired, who in spite of the blank expression he was wearing seemed shaken.

_'Probably because it was Albus who kept him out of Azkaban after all,'_ Amelia thought, grimly.

"He was stripped of all his responsibilities mainly due to manipulation and toleration of child abuse as well as other wrongdoings towards young Harry Potter," Amelia replied, shortly.

"Stupid pampered brat," Snape hissed, glaring at her.

"Excuse me, sir?" Amelia enquired.

"He's a Potter," Snape spat, "and surely pampered by his relatives as the celebrity he is. He probably thought he deserved more attention by all of us. Just like his father, an attention seeking brat."

Ignoring her colleagues' gasp, Amelia remained calm. "Professor Snape," she addressed the Slytherin head, "please note that your contract as Hogwarts' Potions professor, potions master and head of Slytherin house will end after this school year."

The Potions professor looked surprised for an instant, before he managed to school his features to his usual blank mask and replied, "As you wish, Headmistress."

"You're dismissed from this meeting," Amelia continued and waited until Snape had left, before she turned to the ghost. "Professor Binns, I must tell you that your services are not required either after the end of the school year. Thank you for teaching over such a long period of time."

The ghost nodded, glumly. "Who is going to teach the lil' ones about the goblin wars then?" he enquired.

"I shall look for an adequate replacement over the summer," Amelia replied, calmly.

"What about Potions?" Pomona Sprout asked, looking at her, wide-eyed.

"I already have someone in mind," Amelia informed her. "I just didn't have a chance to ask her yet." Seeing that everyone, especially the three remaining heads of the houses cast her curious looks, she admitted, "Pandora Lovegood. Please keep this to yourselves though. I intend to speak with her tonight." Looking around the staff room, she asked, "Shall I just continue?"

"Please do so," Minerva was the first to agree, and Amelia quickly dismissed the professors for Muggle Studies, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy.

"Everyone mentioned now is dismissed from this meeting," Minerva announced, causing the fired professors to leave immediately. "We'll see if they will still teach their two last weeks of classes," she added, dryly.

"As Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, I intend to hire Remus Lupin, provided that Pandora Lovegood will brew Salazar Slytherin's long lost wolvescure potion for him to cure him from lycanthropy," Amelia explained, only to admit, "I haven't asked either of them yet though. As to the other vacancies, please give me some time to consider the matter."

"Excuse me, Amelia," Pomona spoke up, "may we assume that these will be the only dismissions for this year?"

Casting a smile at the head of her former Hogwarts house, Amelia replied, "If you don't have any further recommendations, I believe that's all for now."

"No, I haven't," Pomona replied, returning the smile.

_End of flashback_

"Snivellus is gone?" Sirius spoke up, pleasantly. "Thank Merlin, I wouldn't want him to have to say anything to Harry."

"He's not gone yet," Amelia warned him. "Only after the end of the school year, which will be in two weeks' time."

Turning to Susan and Harry, she suggested, "Let's go to the Great Hall and attend dinner."

HP

Amelia introduced them as her niece Susan, Harry Potter and his godfather Sirius Black, who was her successor as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Harry almost missed that she instructed them to sit either at the head table or at any of the house tables, as he listened to the comment coming from a seemingly grumpy teacher who was completely dressed in black. "Other children have to wait until they turn eleven, before they're allowed to come to Hogwarts, unlike these pampered brats."

"Let's sit at the Gryffindor table, my old house table," Sirius suggested, and Harry obediently trailed behind his godfather, where the three of them sat between a pair of identically looking redheads, who had readily made space for them.

The twins and also Sirius were extremely funny, and Harry thoroughly enjoyed his first dinner at Hogwarts. He was almost disappointed, when they returned to the founders' quarters afterwards.

HP

Albus Dumbledore had made many mistakes in his life. Not having sufficiently taken care of Ariana had been the biggest, his meddling with Baby Harry the second biggest mistake.

However, he was not stupid. His house-elves at his manor in Italia had been thrilled, when he returned home, and absolutely delighted upon hearing that he intended to remain for a while.

_'I'm going to see if I can apply for the headmaster's position in a smaller magical school on the continent,'_ he resolved. _'Maybe in Germany, considering that my German is still fluent.'_

Buttering another bread roll, he thought, _'Too bad that Fawkes left me. It'll take much more time to send letters abroad. Before I do anything though, I need to return to Hogwarts and pack my things from my secret chamber,'_ he resolved.

From a glance at his wrist watch, he realised that it was just dinner time at Hogwarts and decided to go immediately. _'Who knows when Minerva or whoever is my successor at Hogwarts will invade my old quarters. I better go and get everything I need right away.'_

Infinitely glad for his phoenix Animagus form, he flashed himself right into the secret chamber within his former quarters at the most famous wizarding school of the western world.

The chamber was very small. No one but just himself and Fawkes would fit into it. However, it held his most precious belongings. He gathered his photo album and put it into the charmed bag that he had brought with him, followed by a very old bottle of Odgen's Finest, which he had once received from his former best friend Gellert, and the invisibility cloak.

_'I only need the resurrection stone,'_ he thought, _'then I have the three Hallows. Too bad that the cloak won't work for me though.'_ He let out a deep sigh, knowing that the cloak would only count as one of the three if a member of the Potter or Peverell family gifted it to him. _'Maybe in a few years' time, I can convince Harry to do such a thing,'_ he thought.

He glanced around the tiny place, slightly feeling melancholic. _'It's about sixty years, since I became the headmaster here,'_ he recalled, almost feeling sad at the idea of abandoning everything that had become dear to him in his British homeland. '_I need to get in touch with Severus,'_ he resolved.

With that, he returned to Italy, knowing that Twinkle, his most trusted house-elf at Hogwarts would be able to gather his belongings from the rest of his rooms and leave for Italy to join him.

Back in his room, he sent a Patronus to Severus, his most trusted colleague and best friend at his former school.

To his enormous surprise, it took his friend not more than two hours to join himself in Italy.

"Cicero is just setting up my potions lab in your dungeons," Severus greeted him. "I hope that's all right."

"Of course my boy," Albus replied, pleased. "What happened for you to leave Hogwarts without even waiting for the school year to end?"

"Bones sacked me," Severus confessed. "Why would I wait two more weeks to get away?"

"That's right my boy," Albus replied in a soothing voice. "We'll find a new challenge together very soon."

HP

"Harry and Susan!" Astoria blurted out in excitement, when her two friends' heads appeared in the fireplace. "Will you step through?"

"No, you come over," Susan replied, grinning.

"It's the fireplace of the founders' quarters, Hogwarts," Harry informed her, before he and Susan stepped back from the fireplace and returned to the arrangement of sofas and chairs, where Amelia, Minerva and Sirius were just conversing with Luna's mother. Luna was sitting beside them staring into space with a dreamy look.

An instant later, Daphne stepped out of the fireplace, closely followed by Astoria.

Both girls hugged Harry, Susan and Luna, before Astoria blurted out, "Is everything all right? What happened?"

Waving Luna over, Harry and Susan pulled their friends over into the bedroom, which Harry had chosen for himself earlier. They made themselves comfortable on the large bed as well as the chairs surrounding the desk, before Harry and Susan began to fill their friends in on the events on the day, since they had arrived at Hogwarts.

HP

Remus Lupin was sitting on the sofa in his small, shabby cottage, trying to concentrate on an old tome about goblin fight tactics, while recovering from the aftermath of the recent full moon, when Sirius' canine Patronus arrived.

"Remus, come and visit Harry and me at Hogwarts. The fireplace is 'The founders' quarters, Hogwarts'," it informed him.

Remus looked up in surprise. _'Sirius, Harry?'_ he thought, incredulously, before he realised, _'That's impossible. Sirius is in Azkaban and Harry with the Dursleys. I must be seeing things. I better go to bed.'_ Putting his book back on the table, he made his way into his bedroom, trying to suppress the tears that welled in his eyes at the thought of his last best friend and his unofficial godson.

_tbc...?_

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	7. Gringotts

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

* * *

Harry had to admit to himself that he was disappointed, when Remus did not follow Sirius' invitation to visit them at Hogwarts. However, he did not have much time to mull over the matter, as when Daphne and Astoria left, Amelia and Sirius decided that Susan and he had to go to bed.

"I'll write to Remus," Amelia promised. "Perhaps he'll rather listen to me than to Sirius," she added, chuckling.

"Err…" Harry hesitantly began to speak. _'Am I allowed to tell them that I'm working for the Unspeakables?'_ he wondered. _'Oh, Amelia probably knows,_' he recalled and continued in a small voice, "I need to be somewhere at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

While Amelia nodded in understanding, Sirius cast him a surprised look.

"And where might that be?"

Amelia gave Harry a reassuring nod. "Harry, I believe that you're allowed to let Sirius in on the secret, considering that he's your godfather and would be your guardian had you not been emancipated recently."

"I'm an Unspeakable," Harry explained to the older wizard, somehow feeling just a little bit proud of it.

"You're what?" Sirius blurted out, looking from Harry to Amelia, who nodded, smiling, before she explained the circumstances to the godfather.

HP

Once Susan and Harry were in bed, Sirius and Amelia made themselves comfortable in the living room, from where Amelia could oversee the headmistress' office through the connecting door in case anyone needed her.

"I really should go and spend some time in my new office," Amelia said, sighing. "It's not as if I was in any way prepared to suddenly be the headmistress of Hogwarts. That was absolutely sudden and without as much as a forewarning."

Sirius chuckled. "The children made a good choice though," he replied in amusement. "You're going to make a brilliant headmistress, and you already did a huge step in the right direction by dismissing some very annoying people."

"I'm glad that Pandora accepted the Potions position," Amelia replied, letting out a sigh of apparent relief. "The question is whom to make the head of Slytherin though. Pandora was a Ravenclaw."

"Well, you'll have tomorrow to think about work and if necessary the whole summer holidays," Sirius quipped, before his expression became sombre. "Meli, did you really believe that I did such a thing?" he enquired, suddenly feeling slightly upset.

Amelia let out a deep sigh. "No Sirius," she replied in a firm voice. "At that time, I neither had the courage nor the position to protest against Dumbledore and Minister Bagnold, even if I fully believed in your innocence. Please believe me that I'd have done anything to help you if possible. Before I knew what happened, they'd already taken you to Azkaban, and Bagnold and Dumbledore sealed the whole process. It was Harry's colleagues, who brought you back from the prison and saw to it that you got a trial."

Sirius nodded in understanding. "Thanks for believing in my innocence," he replied, smiling. "I suppose that you've moved on in the meantime?"

Amelia sighed. "Not really," she admitted. "No. But if you ask me now if I could go on like we did at that time, I'll have to tell you that I need some time to adjust to the new circumstances, not only to having you back but also to my new job. Please give me some time. I don't mind sharing these quarters with you, even if not my bed, at least not right now."

Sirius nodded. "All right, Meli," he replied, sighing. "Thanks for being honest with me."

Before the fateful Halloween almost eight years ago, they had been dating for two years. However, it was understandable that they could not just pick up, where it had ended. 'I also need some time to adjust to normal life again,' he thought, carefully laying his arm around Amelia's shoulders.

HP

At breakfast the following morning, Harry thought aloud. "What animal part should I use for my wand?" he wondered, causing Susan to gasp.

"Are they going to make a wand for you?" she enquired, looking at him, wide-eyed.

"Yes, but I couldn't decide on an animal," Harry replied in a small voice.

"Why don't you ask Fawkes for a feather?" Amelia suggested, absentmindedly skimming a parchment that had arrived earlier.

"You should take some more trouble to make your wand really powerful," Salazar spoke up from the painting. "Take a feather from Fawkes along with some basilisk skin from my familiar," he instructed him. "Just go to my chamber of secrets and ask Amaterasu. Introduce yourself as my heir and ask her for some skin. She'll surely shed some for you."

Harry glanced at the time display on the wall. "Do I have enough time to go there and get it, before I need to leave?" she asked, unsure how long it would take him to access Salazar's chamber.

"You better don't go right away but leave that for tonight," Salazar replied, thoughtfully. "Before you go, someone has to cast a charm over the school to keep everyone safe from Amaterasu's yellow basilisk eyes. The charm will last a year, and it'll be safe to go and visit her." Turning to Sirius, he continued, "I suppose that you'll be able to cast the charm over the school and the grounds during the next few hours."

"I will," Sirius promised, and Harry nodded, contentedly.

He could not help feeling slightly disappointed at the thought of having to wait another day, before they could make his wand. However, he was certain that he wanted to wait for the basilisk skin to be used in combination with a feather from Fawkes, which the phoenix promised to give him later the same day.

HP

At exactly eight o'clock, Harry flooed into the Unspeakables office, looking very much forward to the training with the other Unspeakables.

"While we intend to teach you wandless magic, we'd prefer to train you with a wand first," Croaker informed him upon hearing the story about the ingredients for the wand. "Therefore, we shall rather take you to Gringotts today and get that out of the way."

"Gringotts is the wizarding bank, and unbeknownst to the goblins or anyone else but the Unspeakables, one of the goblins, Buckbean, is one of us," Ra informed him. "In fact, as soon as your parents died, he took over as your account manager."

When Harry gave the old wizard a surprised look, he continued, "After Regulus and I feigned our deaths and Sirius was in Azkaban, he also took over the Black accounts. Please tell Sirius to pay Buckbean a visit and accept the Black lordship. As Reg and I are officially dead, he's supposed to become the Lord Black."

"I'll tell him," Harry promised. _'Even if he's related to me, he's very nice,'_ he thought, feeling somehow comfortable and relaxed in the old wizard's company.

Before he knew what happened, they stood in front of a white marble building, and he eagerly followed Ra, who had not taken off his Unspeakable hood yet, inside the bank.

Harry glanced around, eyeing rows of funny looking beings with curiosity. _'They must be goblins,'_ he realised, as the older Unspeakable demanded to see Buckbean.

Only when they were inside Buckbean's office and the goblin had cast a spell to ward his office from curious eyes, he motioned them to take their hoods off.

Harry curiously let his eyes wander around the office, which was equipped with an expensive looking desk as well as a table surrounded by the four chairs, where they were seated. Harry did not know why, but the office gave him the impression as if Buckbean was a higher-ranking goblin. The walls were decorated by goblin-made swords and other items made from what Harry assumed was steel.

"Arcturus Black and Harry Potter," the goblin greeted them in a friendly voice. "I'm Buckbean, your account manager," he added for Harry's sake.

"May your gold always flow," the old wizard greeted the goblin, who retaliated in a similar way.

Harry listened, wide-eyed, as a couple of greetings were exchanged, before the two men came to the point.

"Harry needs to know everything about his account," the older wizard pointed out.

Buckbean snipped his hand, and a thick folder appeared on the desk in front of Buckbean out of thin air.

"Mr. Potter, you're already emancipated," Buckbean read from the first page, quirking an eyebrow in apparent surprise.

"Yes sir, when the Unspeakables took me in, they saw to it," he replied in a small voice.

"That's good," Buckbean stated, seemingly contented. "Then we can cancel the betrothal contract that Dumbledore set up together with Molly Weasley, and we can cancel the monthly stipends for Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, the Dursleys and the Weasleys."

Not understanding what this was about, Harry looked questioningly from the goblin to his great uncle. _'I should have brought Astoria or Daphne,'_ he thought, unsurely. _'They explain everything, so that I can understand it.'_

To his relief, the two older men saw fit to patiently explain everything to him, and a short while later, they had cancelled all unwanted contracts.

"How dare Dumbledore make Harry send a monthly stipend to the Weasleys?" Arcturus enquired, grimly.

"There was a comment here, stating that it was for Ronald Weasley for befriending Harry once they were at Hogwarts," Buckbean replied, letting out a deep sigh. "Ronald's school fees have even been paid from Harry's account in advance. I'm going to draw everything back though."

'_But then he might not be able to attend Hogwarts,'_ Harry thought, horrified, before he recalled who Ronald Weasley was. '_It was the unfriendly redhead with his sister, who gave me out to Dumbledore,'_ he thought and decided that he did not care, calmly observing how the parchments that he had signed rolled themselves up and vanished into thin air.

"You're not only the heir to the Potter family, but also to the Slytherin-Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw families," Buckbean informed him.

Harry nodded, as he was already aware of the matter.

"Consequently, you're the owner of Hogwarts and as such the sole decision maker at the castle. You may even abolish the board of governors." Apparently realising that Harry cast him a questioning look, he explained, "The board consists of eight witches and wizards, who interfere in the matters of the school from outside. One of them is Lucius Malfoy," he added, causing Harry's eyes to widen.

_'I've heard that name before,'_ he realised, recalling how the blonde wizard had spoken up in front of the Wizengamot and what Astoria had told him about the man.

"I'd like to abolish it," he said in a firm voice.

"Very well," Buckbean replied in understanding. "I'll set up a statement, which you have to sign, before we send it to the ministry for validation."

"You're also entitled to dismiss any teachers and install new ones," Buckbean informed them.

Harry shook his head. "Thank you, sir, but that's not necessary. Amelia Bones, who is the new headmistress, already fired a couple of people yesterday, and she knows much better whom to install instead than I would know."

After a few more minutes of discussing this and that, Buckbean instructed Harry to consider if he wanted to accept the lordships of the Potter, Slytherin-Hufflepuff and Gryffindor-Ravenclaw houses; however, Harry declined.

"I'd like to attend and finish Hogwarts first," he decided. "I don't want the other kids to think that I'm special, because I'm the lord to three houses. I just want to be a normal kid for a while."

_'If that's at all possible,'_ he thought, as deep inside, he knew that he had to be a freak. The Dursleys had seen to that.

Arcturus and Buckbean exchanged an amused look. "Are any of the Unspeakables normal?" Buckbean asked, smirking.

"Oh well, let the kid be as normal as possible," Arcturus replied, before he decided to leave and put his hood back on. "Buckbean, may your enemies always cower before you," he added.

Harry hurriedly followed his lead. Pulling his hood back on, he added, "Buckbean, thank you so much for your advice. May your enemies always fear you."

HP

Remus was lying on the sofa in his living room, trying to do what he had not been able to do the whole night – sleep. However, ever since he had received the strange Patronus the previous evening, his thoughts went haywire.

_'Sirius,'_ he thought, _'my best friend – before he betrayed them. If he's really free, maybe he was innocent. Perhaps it was Peter. But then again, that's not possible. Peter is dead, and Sirius is the last of the Marauders. He can't be free, let alone with Harry. Harry's at his relatives' home anyway, and Dumbledore forbade me to visit him. Of course, I can't be near him. I'm a good-for-nothing werewolf,'_ he thought, letting out a deep sigh. _'If I wasn't a werewolf, Lily and James would have made me Harry's godfather, and I'd have been able to raise Harry.'_

He could not prevent the tears from flowing all over his face, as he pondered what might have been had he not been bitten by a werewolf so many years ago.

Suddenly, he recalled something and sat up in shock. _'A Patronus can't be faked.'_

_'It must have been Sirius' Patronus,'_ he realised. However, he still could not believe it. _'And even if so_,' he thought, '_I can't get near Harry. He doesn't know me, and he wouldn't want to know me considering what I am. Sirius has always been special. He was the first to come to terms with me being me. It took James and Peter much more time, and Harry, considering that he was raised by muggles, probably doesn't even know that werewolves exist.'_

The idea of contacting Dumbledore about the matter crossed his mind, however, before he could decide on an action, a phoenix flashed into the room, and he recognised him as Fawkes, Dumbledore's familiar.

"Fawkes?" Remus enquired, gently petting the bird's crown feathers.

The bird let out a short series of trills, before he held out his foot for him, offering him a parchment.

'_From Dumbledore,'_ Remus thought, as he opened the folded letter with a combination of relief and excitement, only to stop dead in his tracks.

_'This is not Dumbledore's writing,'_ he realised and quickly let his eyes wander to the end of the letter to look who had sent it. '_Amelia Bones,'_ he realised in surprise and disappointment at the same time.

_'Dear Mr. Lupin,  
as Albus Dumbledore's successor as headmistress of Hogwarts, I would like to ask you to urgently contact me, either through the fireplace or in person at the headmistress' office at Hogwarts. Fawkes might even offer to take you. He is Harry's familiar now.  
Best regards  
Amelia Bones'_

'_Amelia Bones is the headmistress?'_ Remus thought in disbelief, as he let the letter sink onto his lap. _'This seems like a bad joke. I wonder what happened to Dumbledore.'_

Turning to the phoenix, who was sitting on the table, eyeing him with apparent curiosity, he asked, "Are you Fawkes?"

The bird nodded.

"You're Dumbledore's phoenix, right?" Remus enquired.

The bird vehemently shook its head.

"Did something happen to Dumbledore?" Remus asked. "Is he dead?"

The phoenix moved its head from one side to the other, before stepping over to Remus invitingly turning his back feathers to him.

"You want me to come with you?" Remus guessed, causing the phoenix' head to move up and down in affirmation. Remus let out a long sigh, before he decided, "Please wait and let me grab my robes. Then I'll go with you."

Five minutes later, he allowed the phoenix to flash him to wherever the bird thought that he was required to be. _'Probably to Hogwarts,'_ he reassured himself.

After a few seconds of travel, they arrived at what Remus recognised as the headmaster's office of Hogwarts. However, the person sitting behind the desk was not Dumbledore but Amelia Bones. He glanced at the new photo frame on the wall, seeing that it was occupied by his former mentor, however, Dumbledore seemed fast asleep.

"I'm sorry, I cast an infinite sleeping spell at that portrait," Amelia admitted, having followed his eyes' movement.

"Hello Madam Bones," Remus said, "I'm sorry. I was just surprised. Congratulations for becoming the headmistress."

"Thank you, Mr. Lupin," Amelia replied in a soft voice. "I assume that you have not heard yet what transpired in the Wizengamot yesterday?"

"No Madam," Remus replied, wide-eyed, when he heard a shriek from behind. "Moony!"

It was a voice, of which he had assumed that he would never hear it again.

"Sirius?" he asked in surprise, quickly turning around to where his best friend entered the office through a connecting door, which Remus had never seen before.

An instant later, he felt himself being pulled into a bear hug, and tears of happiness began to leak from his eyes.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. I'm sorry that I did not manage to update on Sunday evening as usual. We went on a small family trip over Easter. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	8. Marauders

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore maybe also Weasley bashing_

* * *

When Harry returned after an afternoon of lessons in Telepathy, Occlumency and Wandless Magic with his teammates, the founders' living room was filled with laughter.

He looked around in surprise, only to see Sirius and another wizard of about the same age sitting on one of the sofas seemingly engrossed in some funny stories.

"Hello," he said, shyly, as he approached the two men, smiling in amusement.

"Harry!" Sirius shouted in apparent excitement, reaching out for his arm to pull him close. "This is Moony!"

"Hi Harry," Moony added in a soft voice. "I'm very happy to finally be able to meet you. I'm Remus."

"Hello Remus," Harry replied, immediately liking his parents' other best friend.

"What have you been up to?" Sirius enquired, chuckling. "Meli came over earlier and told me that the ministry contacted her to inform her that you dismissed the board of governors."

"Yes, I did," Harry replied, matter-of-factly. "Shouldn't I?"

He looked from one to the other, when both men blurted out laughing.

"I believe that was a wise decision, Harry," Remus reassured him. "It will make things much easier for Amelia."

"It will," Sirius confirmed. "It was hilarious, but still, very well done, Harry."

"Oh Sirius, by the way," Harry recalled, "I'm supposed to tell you to go to Gringotts and speak with Buckbean. He's the account manager not only of the Potter vaults but also of the Black vaults, and you're supposed to become the Lord Black."

Sirius' eyes narrowed. "Harry, who in the world told you such a thing?" he enquired in a stern voice that left nothing of his earlier happiness.

"Err, one of the Unspeakables," Harry replied, uncertainly.

"Why would I be the Lord Black?" Sirius mumbled, seemingly more to himself than to Harry. "My mother kicked me out of the family."

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so. Someone who's related to you and me told me, and Buckbean confirmed everything he said."

Sirius looked up, wide-eyed. "Someone who's related to both of us," he repeated, pensively. "Who might that be?"

"James' Mum was a Black, Dorea Potter," Remus spoke up, pensively.

"She was the sister of Arcturus Black, my Grandfather," Sirius completed the thought. "But he must be almost as old as Dumbledore, and I don't think that he's still alive. If he was, he'd be the Lord Black in any case."

"I'm sorry," Harry replied, inwardly groaning upon realising that he had said too much. "I can't tell you about the Unspeakables' identities. I'd have to ask for their permission."

"Harry," Sirius asked in a gentle voice, "Was he or she nice? I mean, was he friendly to you? It's not that hag of my mother, right?"

Harry smiled. "No, it's not your mother. My colleagues are all very nice, and yes, I really like them a lot. They're the best relatives I've ever met."

"Would you mind inviting them here?" Sirius enquired.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know if they'll come and if they're ready to reveal their identity at all, but I can ask," he offered.

"Please be so kind and invite them for dinner for tomorrow evening then," Sirius demanded before pulling Harry into his conversation with his best friend.

During the next few hours, the two older wizards told Harry a lot about the Marauders and their time at Hogwarts, and by the time Harry went to bed, he was extremely happy and grateful to be able to get to know Sirius and Remus.

HP

Albus Dumbledore was just enjoying the breakfast that his elves had prepared with much enthusiasm together with Severus Snape, one of his few remaining allies, when an owl flew through the open window, delivering a letter to him.

Albus unfolded the parchment with excitement, and his eyes began to twinkle merrily, as he read the content.

_'Dear Mr. Dumbledore,  
thank you very much for your correspondence and your interest in our Kilian's School for Magic in Würzburg, Germany. Currently, I am indeed looking for a deputy headmaster, who will be ready to take over our school after my retirement in four or five years' time.  
This letter will turn into a Portkey at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and I would very much like to welcome you here to discuss the details of your possible employment with our school.  
Best regards  
A. Hehl  
Headmaster of Kilian's School for Magic'_

_'Germany, I'm coming,'_ Albus thought, feeling extremely happy at the newest development. Just when he handed the letter to Severus, another owl approached him, only to drop a red letter onto the table in front of him.

"_Albus,"_ the howler shouted in Molly Weasley's voice,  
_"How dare you not take care of the betrothal contract between Ginny and Harry? We just received word from Gringotts that the contract has been cancelled! You were supposed to see to it!  
We also received a statement that we have to pay almost 100,000 Galleons back to Harry Potter's account and that Ronald's school fees have also been drawn back to Gringotts.  
How dare you make such a mess and allow such things? You promised to see to the children's school fees. Due to your wrongdoings, none of our younger children will be able to attend Hogwarts. We won't be able to even let Percy and the twins finish their education. Don't let me get to you, you lunatic!"_

With that, the howler vanished into thin air.

"Oh no, someone must have taken Harry to Gringotts," Albus breathed, feeling sincerely shocked at the Weasleys' situation. "There's nothing that I can do about it, unfortunately," he added, sighing.

"Does Potter have the right to cancel everything that you set up?" Severus enquired, quirking an eyebrow.

Albus nodded, gravely. "Unfortunately, yes, as it's his account," he admitted. "I just didn't think that he'd be taken to Gringotts and realise about the matter as early as now. Never mind," he added. "I'm going to check out the Kilian's School tomorrow. It's the largest magical school in Germany, almost as big as Beauxbatons and Hogwarts. Maybe they'll even have an opening for a Potions or Defence professor."

"That would be highly agreeable," Severus confirmed, smirking.

HP

"Seeing that my heir is back from work, I'd like to ask you to go and cast the charm over the school and grounds, so that Harry can go and visit my familiar," Salazar suddenly spoke up from the painting that was overseeing the room.

"Oh right," Sirius replied, immediately jumping from his seat. "Remus will you join me to cast a charm? I don't know how strong my magic is yet, after eight years with the Dementors."

"Of course," Remus replied in a soft voice before turning to face Salazar. "Professor Slytherin, what exactly do we need to do?"

Harry observed with interest how Salazar taught Remus the spell. _'Too bad that I don't have a wand yet,'_ he thought, before he recalled that the spell was going to be cast, so that he could go to Salazar's secret chamber and ask his familiar for the remaining ingredient.

HP

Thirty minutes later, he eagerly followed Sirius and Remus down a staircase, which began behind Salazar's potions lab and ended in an enormous stone room. Harry was carrying a small photo frame, into which Salazar had slipped with apparent eagerness.

"You must call Amaterasu, so she knows that you're here," Salazar spoke up from the small portrait. "I can't wait to see her again."

"Salazar," Sirius spoke up, questioningly, "are you sure that the charm worked? We're not exactly proficient at casting such charms."

"If you did exactly what I told you, it'll have worked," Salazar replied, sounding slightly grumpy.

"They did," Harry confirmed, having closely watched Remus cast the charm. "Amaterasssu," he then hissed in Parseltongue, envisioning a snake like Salazar had instructed him.

"Do I hear a Ssspeaker?" a hissing voice replied, and Harry could see a really huge snake slither into the part of the chamber, where they were standing. "Who isssss it? Are you a friend or a foe?" the voice continued.

"I'm a friend, and Salazzzzar ssent me to visssssit you," Harry hissed back, holding the small photo frame out, so that Salazar and his familiar could see each other_. 'Oh Merlin, she's huge,'_ he thought and could not help staring at the large animal with a combination of amazement and shock.

Apparently, both were enthusiastic to see each other, and Harry was relieved to hear that Salazar introduced him as his heir and at the same time asked the basilisk to shed a small amount of skin for his wand.

Sirius and Remus instinctively stepped back a little, when the basilisk slithered over to where the small group was standing. Holding her head right in front of Harry, she stared into his eyes, causing the boy to cast Salazar a questioning look.

"I should assume that she wants to be petted," the ancient wizard informed him, and Harry began to gently pet the basilisk's head.

_'It feels like silk or something like that,'_ he thought in surprise, having assumed from the large snake's appearance that the basilisk's skin would somehow be slippery.

A short while later, Harry carefully and under Salazar's instructions placed the skin that Amaterasu had gently shared for him into a box, which Remus quickly conjured. He profusely thanked the basilisk and promised to come to see her at least once a week during the weekends.

HP

After an exciting night filled with dreams about a huge basilisk and a fire phoenix playing with a wand, Harry stepped into the fireplace and made his way to the Unspeakables' Office first thing in the morning. Everyone else in the founders' quarters was still asleep, and the house-elves had not even begun to make breakfast yet.

However, to his relief, Ra and Raros were already sitting in the cafeteria part of the training room and ushered him into a seat next to them.

"I'd like to make my wand," Harry said in a small voice, only for his two teammates to hear.

"We'll do that right away," Raros replied firmly, "let's just have some breakfast first." He held out his wand for Harry to order breakfast for himself, and Harry carefully slapped the wand against the table in front of him, ordering two pancakes with syrup as well as a glass of cold milk for himself.

Mere minutes later, he was done eating and impatiently waited for Ra and Raros to finish their tea.

"My, you can't wait, can you?" Ra said, smirking, and the two older wizards finally rose from their chairs and led Harry into the team room.

Glad to be able to take off the Unspeakable robes, Harry carefully pulled the box containing the red feather from Fawkes and the almost black skin from Amaterasu out of his robe pocket and placed it onto the table.

"Show us what you've got," Ra instructed him, and Harry proudly opened the lid.

"A phoenix feather and basilisk skin," he explained, feeling very happy with his choice of ingredients.

"Very well, we'll use that along with the lichens from Hogwarts," Ra said, pensively, before he asked, "Harry, I suggest some magically powerful blood as the last ingredient; however, would you prefer to use your own blood or perhaps a combination of yours and mine?"

Raros looked up in surprise. "Oh right, as Harry's related to us, the combination would be brilliant. Harry," he turned to the boy, "I suggest that you use Grandfather's blood together with your own. It'll be extremely powerful."

"Yes please," Harry agreed, smiling, as he set to observe how his wand was made, ready to assist if possible. However, to his surprise, Ra and Raros put their robes back on and instructed him to do the same, before they led him out of the team room taking the ingredients with them.

"We're not proficient in wand making," Ra informed him, as they led him through the Unspeakables' corridors. "So we're taking you to Athene. She's our wand maker. With a bit of luck, she's already in her office."

Athene was a very old witch, and to Harry's surprise, she was not wearing a hood. She had long, white hair, and her face was full with wrinkles, however, she smiled at Harry and was very friendly.

It took Athene almost three hours to make a wand from the intertwined feather and skin with lichens and three drops each of Harry's and Ra's blood.

Finally, she handed Harry his wand, smiling broadly. While it was black, it was shimmering red, and when Harry held it in his hand, it felt cool and silky almost like the basilisk skin had felt against his skin. His whole body seemed to warm up, and he realised that he felt incredibly happy. Small sparks erupted from the tip of his wand, when he gave it a slight shake.

"It's beautiful," he sighed, happily.

"Be careful, child," Athene warned him. "This wand is one of the most powerful wands which I've ever seen. The only wand more powerful than this is the Elder Wand. If it is more powerful at all," she added as an afterthought.

"And that belongs to Dumbledore," Ra added. "Now, that's the end of your quiet time here. From this afternoon onwards, you're going to have training with Devil, and believe me, powerful wand or not, it's going to be hard."

"Yes sir," Harry replied in a small voice, hoping that he would manage to do as expected. He profusely thanked Athene, who gently patted his shoulder and said he was welcome.

Harry could not wait to try out his wand, and after a short lunch at the canteen of the Ministry of Magic, his teammates led him to Devil, who immediately began to teach Harry a couple of easy spells like the Expelliarmus spell or a simple shield spell.

When the others returned to their team room, contented that Devil was teaching Harry, Devil slowly intensified the newbie's training, knowing that he was powerful and in the possession of very special wand.

_'I'm going to try a simple spell on Sirius, when he doesn't expect it,'_ Harry thought in amusement, when he joined his teammates in the team room after a long afternoon of training.

"Oh, I almost forgot," he blurted out, when he let himself sink into the chair next to Raros, "When I told Sirius about becoming Lord Black, he asked about you. Sorry, but I told him that you were related to him and me, and he would like to meet you. He asks if you were willing to come to dinner tonight." He unsurely glanced from one to the other.

Raros nodded. "We can always make him swear an oath to keep our secrets," he quipped.

"That's true," Ra agreed. "Let's see if he behaves first," he added, causing Harry to chuckle.

Just when Meta and Mento returned from an errand and entered the room, Ra, Raros and Harry were ready to floo to Hogwarts.

HP

When Harry stepped out of the fireplace and quickly left the spot, knowing that Ra and Raros would follow swiftly, Sirius was just trying to hex Godric Gryffindor in the painting of the founders, while Remus was making every possible attempt to stop him.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, incredulously. "Ra and Raros are going to come through now. I invited them for dinner."

"Oh Merlin," Sirius replied, hurriedly putting his wand away.

_'Do I even want to know what that was about?'_ Harry wondered, and, once Ra stepped out of the fireplace, decided that he definitely did not want to know.

HP

Minerva McGonagall entered the headmistress' office, eager to inform Amelia of her newest idea. Ever since Amelia had dismissed several of the teachers, she had been thinking of Miranda. Miranda had been her own student just a couple of years ago. In fact, she had been in the year after Lily Evans, who had been her favourite student of all times. Just like Lily, Miranda was muggleborn. While she had finished Hogwarts with top grades in her NEWTs, it was very difficult for her to find a proper job, probably because she was muggleborn. Anyway, as soon as Minerva heard that Amelia had fired Professor Binns, something that Albus should have done several decades ago, Minerva had wondered if the position would be an adequate occupation for Miranda.

During the previous evening, she had floo called her former student and enquired about her current employment situation without telling the young witch about the opening at Hogwarts, so as to not get her hopes up.

She took the offered seat, letting out a deep sigh. "Amelia," she came straight to the point, glad that Amelia was very different from Albus in that hindsight. With the old headmaster, it had always afforded at least five minutes of small talk, before one could proceed to the topic at hand. "I have a suggestion for the History of Magic position," she blurted out, eagerly.

"Oh, that's very good," Amelia replied, smiling. "Do I know the person?"

"Oh well, at least you attended Hogwarts at the same time, and seeing that you knew Sirius and Remus…"

Amelia let out a snort. "Who at Hogwarts did not know the Marauders?" she enquired. "Even if they were in a different house."

"I'm thinking of Miranda May, she was in the year behind the Marauders and also in Gryffindor," Minerva explained, eagerly.

"I'm not sure if I know her," Amelia replied, pensively. "Have you asked if she's interested in the position?"

"No," Minerva shook her head. "I wanted to speak with you first, as I didn't want her to get her hopes up and then be disappointed."

"Would you mind inviting her then? Possibly for tomorrow or the day after?" Amelia asked. "If possible, I wish to fill the vacancies, before everyone leaves for the summer."

"Of course," Minerva promised, "the sooner the better in any case."

HP

Albus Dumbledore left the headmaster's office at the Kilian's School for Magic, trying to keep his excitement at bay. His conversation with Headmaster Hehl had gone surprisingly well, and he had been offered and had accepted the position of the deputy headmaster.

_'Thank Merlin that no one thought about sacking me from the position as Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards,'_ he thought in amusement. _'Hehl seemed to be thrilled to hire me._ _Just four or five years, and then I'll be the headmaster,'_ he thought, contentedly. '_I can't wait to see Amelia's and Minerva's faces, when they find out about it. Maybe only after I become the headmaster though. Just right now, no one in Britain needs to know about this_.'

He leisurely left the school through the main entrance, curiously looking around.

The Kilian's School for Magic was, in contrary to Hogwarts, situated almost in the city centre of a middle-sized town in Germany, on the one side next to a research institute, which was built in the same futuristic style as the school, and on the other side right on the river Main. For muggles, the whole school looked like an enormous car park full with muggle cars. Professor Hehl had told him that everyone's robes were charmed, so that the muggles did not realise anything strange about their clothes, when the pupils mingled with muggles on the shore of the river as well as in the city centre.

_'What an interesting place,'_ he thought, feeling extremely happy at his good luck. He was even able to bring Severus with him, as the school was just looking for a second Potions Master, who did not have to teach except for rare occasions, but was mainly responsible for the brewing of potions for the infirmary. _'Severus will like it,'_ he confirmed, as he let his conversation with the headmaster pass in the front of his mind.

_'Oh well, the conditions for getting back at everyone who wronged me in Britain couldn't be better,'_ he thought, as he curiously boarded the tram, which – as Headmaster Hehl had explained to him – would lead him right to the magical shopping district, once he reached the final stop on the outskirts of the city.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate them very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._

_Someone told me they did not want Severus Snape to be evil. I have not decided if he will be evil or not in this story - yet. Any opinions here are very much appreciated as well._


	9. Making more Friends

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

To Harry's relief, both Arcturus and Regulus revealed their identities to Sirius and Remus after asking both wizards to swear a wizard's oath to keep their secret.

Sirius was shocked to see his brother and grandfather alive to say the least.

"I feel as if I was in a wrong film, a much better one than just a week ago though," Sirius blurted out, looking very happy.

"Me too," Harry agreed, smiling. _'Only a week has passed, since I left the Dursleys,'_ he thought. _'So much happened, and everything is so much better now. I have a real family, a familiar, many things to do during the day, can eat real food and as much as I want. My life is absolutely brilliant now.'_

He was brought back to reality, when Susan arrived. To Harry's relief, she only had to promise to keep the Unspeakables' identities to herself. _'Thank Merlin, I wouldn't know exactly how to swear an oath,'_ he thought.

"Lisa," Sirius called the house-elf who was – according to Hogwarts – responsible for the founders' quarters. "Would you mind bringing dinner for the six of us? We have guests, so we won't attend dinner in the Great Hall tonight."

"Of course, Master Sirius," the elf replied and vanished with a small crack. A mere instant later, a full-course dinner popped up on the table.

"Oh Merlin, I almost forgot how good the food at Hogwarts is," Regulus sighed, causing Sirius to fully agree.

"Compared to what I got to eat during the last eight years, it looks simply marvellous," he moaned, as he let his eyes wander around the delicacies.

Everyone filled their plates, before Sirius looked at his grandfather and asked in a slightly accusing voice, "Will you please explain to me why both of you feigned your death?"

"Well," Arcturus spoke up, smirking at Regulus.

"When I realized that the Dark Lord had made Horcruxes, I tried to destroy one," Regulus slowly began to explain. "Kreacher helped me, and we exchanged a Horcrux with a copy, but we still haven't succeeded destroying it. Anyway, the Dark Lord somehow got to know about it, and – needless to say – he swore revenge. If I hadn't feigned my death, he'd have come to kill me right away, so I didn't really have a choice. Thankfully, I had met Croaker before, and I went to see him and asked if I could join. So, I suppose that's what saved my life." He let out a deep sigh, before he continued.

"I'm sorry, Sirius, for not telling you much sooner, but at first, I really had to lay low, and then, you got yourself shipped into Azkaban."

Arcturus nodded in confirmation. "I had a choice," he admitted. "However, with you and Regulus both gone and Orion dead, I only had Walburga for company."

He interrupted himself, when Sirius let out a loud snort. "Good company indeed," the Marauder scoffed, causing Harry to stare at his godfather in confusion.

"Walburga was the hag of my mother, an absolutely horrible bitch," Sirius explained, smirking.

"Anyway, I decided that I'd prefer the company of the Unspeakables to that hag, as you said, of my daughter-in-law," Arcturus continued, only to mumble, "Should've never allowed Orion to marry that bitch in the first place. Having my grandson there was an unexpected but very welcome bonus," he added, grinning.

"Excuse me, sir, but what is a Horcrux?" Harry enquired in a small voice, uncertain if it was all right for him to ask questions.

Arcturus gave him a pensive look, before he carefully explained what a Horcrux was, causing Harry and Susan to stare at the old wizard in shock.

"I was certain that mother had kicked me out of the family," Sirius said, sounding surprised.

Arcturus chuckled. "Oh that," he replied, mischievously. "Your mother tried, but as you know, I was the head of the family, and, even if I was supposed to be dead to the world, the goblins knew that I was alive, especially since I changed our account manager to Buckbean the instant I joined the Unspeakables," he explained. "Even if Walburga thought she held all the power, she could not influence anything. She never realized that though," he added, grinning. "Therefore, I'd like you to take up the lordship as soon as you can move yourself to Gringotts. Buckbean knows about the matter, and it'll pass on from me to you, as soon as you swear your oath on the family."

HP

As long as he could remember, Remus had suffered from the monthly changes, and by now, at the age of thirty, he had almost given up the hope that by some sort of miracle, he could be cured.

When Amelia invited him to Hogwarts to inform him not only that she intended to hire him as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, but also that Pandora Lovegood was just brewing a cure for lycanthropy for him, it had been like a dream come true.

He still had to wait for a few days, as – according to Salazar Slytherin, the inventor of the cure – the potion had to be taken within three days before the full moon.

On Saturday evening after dinner, he made his way to the hospital wing, accompanied by Sirius and Harry – the child, who had not only been very understanding, when they explained everything about werewolves to him, but who had also swiftly translated Salazar's recipe from Parseltongue into English, so that he, Remus, could be cured as soon as possible.

Feeling extremely grateful yet apprehensive, Remus entered the hospital wing, where Pandora was already waiting for him together with Poppy Pomfrey, who had always been the kindness in person towards him, whenever he was suffering from the after-effects of the full moon during his time at Hogwarts.

Like in a trance, he sat on the indicated bed and endured the matron's fussing, when she checked on him to make sure that he was in a sufficiently good enough health to take the potion.

Once she slid her wand away, nodding in apparent contentedness, Pandora stepped forward.

"Remus, I don't know anything about this potion except from the recipe, but Amelia told me that Salazar Slytherin had assured her that there would not be any side effects," Pandora said in a soft voice.

"Thank you so much for doing this for me," Remus said, thickly, trying hard to fight the tears back that were traitorously welling in his eyes. He carefully accepted the small, light brown phial from the potions mistress and downed it in one large gulp, trying to not linger on the disgusting taste.

At first, he did not feel anything; however, after the fifteen minutes that Poppy insisted he had to stay passed, he realised that he felt considerably better.

Three days before the full moon, the aches and pains of the impending transformation had already started, however, everything was gone – all of a sudden – almost as if the full moon had been miraculously postponed for at least a couple of days.

"This feels good," Remus said in a small voice, still not daring to really get his hopes up. "Poppy," he turned to the matron, "would it be all right for me to spend the night of the full moon in the Shrieking Shack like in old times?"

Pomfrey nodded, smiling broadly. "Of course, my boy," she agreed. "Just come to see me like always, and I'll take you there."

"I'll accompany you, Moony," Sirius announced.

"You don't have to go with me," Remus replied in a soft voice. "I'm only going to sleep through the night. I can already feel that there's no impending transformation. I feel much too well."

After once again profusely thanking Pandora, Poppy and Harry, Remus left the hospital wing with Sirius and Harry in tow, feeling happier than he could recall having felt ever before.

HP

On Sunday morning, Harry and Susan decided to have breakfast in the Great Hall, to be specific at the Gryffindor table, where they joined the red headed twins. They had already dined together with the funny second-years a few times, and they liked them a lot.

"Later today, the children of the Great Alliance are going to visit us," Susan spoke up in a small voice, only for the twins and Harry to hear. "Can you give us a few pointers as to what we could do to entertain them here at Hogwarts?"

To Harry's surprise, the twins perked up at the news. "Are Ron and Ginny going to come, too?" one of them enquired.

"We're children of the Great Alliance as well…"

"… and if you don't mind…"

"… we'd love to assist entertaining everyone."

Susan and Harry exchanged a horrified glance. "Err no," Susan was the first to reply. "We never invited them except for the first time, because they, respectively their mother gave us out to Dumbledore after our first meeting with Harry," she admitted, giving the twins an anxious look.

Fred and George groaned.

"That's Mum…"

"… She was a big fan of Dumbledore…"

"… until recently."

"Apparently, he gave her a lot of money…"

"… but suddenly, it was withdrawn…"

"… and we probably won't be able…"

"… to return to Hogwarts…"

"… for the next school year."

Harry's eyes widened in shock. _'Redheads – Weasleys. The money that was taken from my account.'_ His thoughts went haywire.

"No no, we'll be able to do something to help you," he whispered. "Please come with us to see my godfather right after breakfast."

With that, the conversation stopped, and the four children swiftly finished their breakfast, before Harry and Susan ushered the twins to the founders' quarters.

"Sirius," Harry blurted out, as soon as they had stepped through the entrance door. "You know Fred and George," he added, recalling that he and Sirius had sat together with the twins at their first dinner together in the Great Hall. "They won't be able to continue attending Hogwarts, because of the money that was taken from my account and drawn back the other day. Is there anything I can do to help them?"

Sirius rose from the sofa, where he had been having breakfast with Remus. "Now, sit down here everyone. Of course, we'll be able to help if you tell us exactly what's wrong," he said, giving the twins a questioning look.

"We're sorry, Mr. Black…"

"…. This is not really anything to concern you about…"

"… but Harry talked us into coming here with him and Susan…"

"… so we did," they replied, exchanging a helpless glance.

"Apparently, Dumbledore gave our mother a lot of money…"

"… Our father knew nothing about it…"

"… but it was withdrawn last week…"

"… and my parents probably can't afford…"

"… sending us to Hogwarts anymore…"

"… Maybe our father can somehow manage…"

"… now that he apparently separated from our mother…"

"… at least that's what she said he was going to do…"

"… but we'd love to continue Hogwarts…"

"… and are wondering if there's any way…"

"… for us to work and earn our own money," they finished their tirade.

Harry would have laughed over their antics, however, he was thoroughly shaken, knowing that their problem had only occurred, because he had called the money back to his account.

"Sirius, could I pay for their school fees?" he spoke up in determination. "It's my fault after all…" He slowly trailed off upon seeing Sirius glare at him.

"Nothing is your fault, Harry," Sirius replied in a strict voice, before turning to the twins, "How old are you, Gentlemen?"

"13," the boys replied, together.

"I have a job for you," Sirius stated, smirking. "The other day, you told me that you like to invent prank potions, didn't you?"

"Yes sir," the two boys chorused, hints of hope showing on their faces.

"You will continue inventing pranks, and we'll pay for your education. In return," he continued, smirking, "after your NEWTs, you're going to open a joke shop – with us as the fundraisers of course. How's that?"

The twins exchanged a glance, before they replied, "Brilliant sir. We accept the deal."

"Do you have your own accounts at Gringotts?" Sirius enquired.

"No sir." The twins shook their heads.

"I'm going to write to Buckbean, who is the account manager of the Black and the Potter families, and have him set up accounts for you," Sirius announced. "Or would you prefer just one account together?" he enquired, giving the boys a sharp look.

"Together please," the twins decided after a quick, silent conversation between them.

"I will pay the school fees directly, however, I will have a small pocket money put into your account, so that you'll be able to buy the necessities for your inventions and have some fun during your Hogsmeade visits during the next school year," Sirius explained.

"Thanks Sirius," Harry sighed in relief, causing the twins to profusely thank Sirius and him.

HP

With that conversation over, the twins quickly returned to their cheery selves and helped Harry and Susan make plans how to entertain their friends, who were going to arrive shortly.

"Sorry for not inviting your younger siblings," Daphne apologized to the twins, who merely returned looks of apparent amusement.

"It's all right…"

"… Right now, we aren't fans of our mother either," they finally replied.

"… She somehow messed up just a little bit…"

"… and it was their own fault that they told Mum about you inviting Harry…"

"… Now shall we go and show you the castle?"

The twins led the fifteen younger children to the Astronomy tower, the library, the Potions classroom, where Luna's mother showed them the strangest ingredients, the courtyard, the Great Hall and finally to the kitchens, where the house-elves overdid themselves making all sorts of sweets for the unexpected guests.

"Thanks for a great tour," Astoria was the first to talk over her large bowl of ice-cream. "That was just amazing."

"Ah, I can't wait to finally become a student here," Neville Longbottom spoke up in a small voice.

"Be glad that you only have to wait a year," Astoria moaned. "Luna and I have to wait another year." She let out a deep sigh.

"Yes, that's very annoying," Luna agreed. "Considering that your mother has been teaching us together since a few weeks ago and will do so for another year, one would hope that they'd let us attend school together."

"Maybe it's possible," Daphne spoke up, pensively.

"Harry," Susan asked, "wouldn't it be you and Auntie to make such a decision?"

Harry shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't have a clue, and I can imagine that others would be upset, because other ten-year-olds would want to attend Hogwarts, too then. Maybe we should visit Amelia in the headmistress' office and ask her."

"Our sister Ginny would be extremely upset…"

"… that's for sure, but…"

"… considering that our siblings are most likely going to be home schooled…"

"… it doesn't matter at all," the twins added in a funny singsong, before they explained about the Weasleys' financial problems due to Dumbledore's and their mother's mistakes as well as their own agreement with Sirius Black.

"Lord Black is a very fine man," Luna smiled, wearing a dreamy expression.

"Is he the Lord Black?" the twins blurted out in clear shock.

"He has yet to take up the lordship," Harry informed them, "but he intends to do so tomorrow."

The twins exchanged a delighted look. "Oh Merlin, the others are going to be so jealous…"

"… We'd better go and write a letter to inform Father of our luck."

Turning to Harry, they enquired, simultaneously, "We trust that you find your way around the castle to take your friends to the headmistress' office and back to the founders' quarters?"

"Yes," Harry replied, grinning at the twins. _'They're really nice and funny,'_ he thought. _'I'm glad that Sirius was able and willing to help them.'_

HP

During the last couple of days before the end of the school year, Harry and Susan made it a habit to take breakfast and dinner in the Great Hall, where they changed tables at every meal. They sat together with the twins at the Gryffindor table, with Jenny Taylor, a fifth year, at the Hufflepuff table, with Roger Davies, a first year Ravenclaw, who was very eager to get onto the Quidditch team and introduced them to the team, and at the Slytherin table together with Mathilda Jones, a fifth-year, who was also playing on the house team and told them much about Quidditch.

During the Leaving Feast, they observed from the Gryffindor table in excitement how Amelia rose from her chair.

"I hope she's going to introduce the new teachers," Harry whispered to Susan upon realising that a couple of unknown adults were sitting at the head table.

"One of them seems fairly old…"

"… for a new teacher," the twins quipped, causing Harry and Susan to nod in agreement.

"Wasn't Dumbledore even older though?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Oh well…"

"… that's for sure," the twins confirmed.

"He's much older, isn't he?" Susan enquired.

"Dumbledore is about 150," one of the Gryffindor prefects confirmed.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate them very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._

_**A.N.: As part of this story is going to play in the city, where I am living, I decided to make a FB group, so that I can post additional information there. Of course, any other of my stories are up for discussion, too. Any ideas, comments, questions, critisizm etc. are very welcome: As the link can't be written here, I ask you to go to my profile page to find the link.**_

_Happy 1st of May to you all :)_


	10. Resolutions

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

Severus Snape carefully stirred the concoction 28 times counter clockwise, before he sat back onto his stool, as the potion had to simmer for five minutes.

_'I wonder if I should join Albus in this school in Germany,' _he thought. _'So far, only Albus was able to keep me safe from Azkaban, however, seeing that he's supposed to be in prison as well, he wouldn't be much use if the Aurors came after me. Perhaps I should better change to Potter's side.'_ He remained deep in thought, while watching the potion slowly change its colour, only to realise, _'With Amelia Bones, it was Potter's side, who fired me.'_

Thoroughly annoyed at the fact, he swiftly finished the concoction before joining Albus in the library.

"I'll accept the position at the Kilian's School for Magic," he informed his mentor.

"That's very good news indeed," Albus replied, reaching out for the small box on the window sill. "May I offer you a lemon drop to celebrate your decision? Sometimes, I find that a sweet can help clearing our minds."

Ignoring the old wizard's statement for the time being, Severus enquired, "Albus, when are we going to move?"

Albus sighed. "In Bavaria, the state, where the school is located, the summer holidays are late compared to other places. They begin at the first of August and last only six weeks. Therefore, school is going to commence on the fifteenth of September. It's the same at the Kilian's school, and I've agreed with headmaster Hehl to join them on the first of August," he explained, pensively.

"Then we still have some time left," Severus replied, somehow feeling relieved.

HP

At dinner, Amelia introduced four new professors, Pandora Lovegood for Potions, Miranda May, a young witch, whom Sirius and Remus knew from their own time at Hogwarts, for History of Magic, Remus as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor and Newton Scamander, a fairly old wizard, for Care of Magical Creatures.

"Unfortunately, none of the new teachers was in Slytherin," Amelia sighed later in the evening, when Sirius, Remus, Amelia, Minerva, Pandora, Harry and Susan were having tea in the founders' quarters. "We still need a new head of Slytherin."

"May I suggest something?" Remus spoke up, seeming hesitant.

"Of course," Amelia replied, looking at him in clear expectation.

"I don't know what the general opinion is, and I know that it hasn't been done before, but why don't you hire four new witches or wizards as the heads of the houses? That way, the heads won't have to teach classes and really have time to care for the students in their houses. They could help them with all kinds of problems, academic and private…" He slowly trailed off, glancing at the others.

"I believe that's a wonderful idea," Minerva was the first to comment, "provided that we're able to hire adequate heads."

"As for Hufflepuff," Susan spoke up, pensively, "maybe Mrs. Greengrass could be convinced to become the head. She's really good at teaching all of us, and I like her very much. She'd make a good head of house, and she told us that she was in Hufflepuff, when she was a student. Perhaps she could still continue teaching us a few hours per day."

"A wonderful choice," Amelia commended her niece. "The only minor problem is that we have to convince her to accept the position in the first place."

"I'm sure Astoria will be able to convince her. She is a bit persuasive," Harry spoke up, grinning. _'Especially if it'll give her a chance to come to Hogwarts earlier, too,_' he added to himself.

"I'll ask her tomorrow," Amelia promised. "Any ideas for the other houses?"

Remus let out a long sigh, before he spoke up, thoughtfully, "Maybe it would be good to have two female heads and two males. I can imagine that girls would sometimes prefer a female advisor and boys a male head."

"Bill Weasley would make a good head of Gryffindor," Minerva said, pensively. "The question is if we can convince him to take the position. Let me go and ask him right away."

With a speed that did not give out her age in the slightest, the deputy headmistress left the founders' quarters and strode to the Gryffindor common room.

"Well, everyone else, please think about the matter," Amelia said, stifling a yawn. "I believe that at least for the children, it's time to go to bed, and I'm quite ready to call it a night as well."

HP

Arthur Weasley let the twins' letter sink into his lap. '_These twins are amazing,_' he thought, feeling very proud of the two of his children, whom his wife always called trouble makers. '_They're brilliant and completely right,'_ he thought. _'It won't do to give up. That they managed to get the support of Lord Black was really well done. It was only a couple of days ago that I read that he claimed the lordship.'_

He remained pensive for a long time, pondering this and that, before he made two decisions.

_'I'm not going to return to Molly,_' he decided. _'I won't divorce from her, and I will still send her as much money as I can, but I'll look for a small room, where I can live for the time being.'_

Ever since he had heard of the plans that Molly had made with Albus Dumbledore, stealing money from little Harry Potter and risking his children's education, when the whole plot backfired, he had not returned home but slept in his office at the ministry. However, that wouldn't do infinitely.

_'I'm also going to look for a new job,_' he resolved. '_I'm doing a huge load of work, and the payment is absolutely rubbish. Maybe I can find a better paid job elsewhere. I don't care anymore that Molly wants me to remain at the ministry because it sounds good. I'm going to look out for myself now.'_

Feeling extremely grateful towards the twins, who had managed to bring him out of his week-long stupor, he left the ministry and headed to Diagon Alley with the intention of buying the Daily Prophet to have a look at job openings and room offers.

Just when he stepped into the alley, he ran into Andromeda and Ted Tonks.

"Arthur, long time no see," Ted was the first to greet him, seemingly delighted to meet him.

"How are you?" Andromeda enquired, giving him a critical look.

"Looking for a place to live and work," Arthur blurted out. After a couple of nights of sleeping under his desk in the office, he was too groggy to even properly think.

"What?" Andromeda blurted out, looking at him in bewilderment.

"Arthur, are you all right?" Ted asked in apparent concern. "What happened?"

"It's a long story," Arthur said in a small voice.

"Let's go and have dinner then," Andromeda replied, resolutely. "Then you can explain everything from the beginning."

Arthur tried to protest, however, the couple was determined to help with his problems and led him out of the alley and into muggle London, where they entered a small restaurant.

"It's our invitation here," Ted whispered in a voice that allowed no contradiction.

For a few minutes, each of them busied themselves with the menus. Only after they had ordered their meal and the waiter bustled away, Andromeda instructed Arthur, "Now tell us everything. Right from the beginning."

Arthur let out a deep sigh, pondering if he was supposed anyone about Molly's mistake. '_I must tell them; otherwise, they won't understand,_' he finally decided. Looking around the slightly dark room with oak tables and extremely comfortable white plush chairs but nonetheless void of any other guests at that time in relief, he began to explain the whole story.

"So apart from a place to live, you're now looking for work in either the magical or the muggle world?" Ted asked, pensively.

"Yes," Arthur replied. "You see, I somehow need to pay for my children's education. I don't want my wife to home school them, considering how stupid and irresponsible she was, and the ministry doesn't pay enough for all the work I'm doing. I've never thought about working in the muggle world, but if it's necessary in order to provide for my children, I'm more than willing to take on the challenge."

"I think I know something," Ted said, slowly. "Can you give me a resume and your NEWT results and whatever is needed for an application by tomorrow?"

"Of course," Arthur replied with a combination of surprise and disbelief.

"Fine, let's meet at the Leaky Cauldron at lunchtime, and in the afternoon, I'm going to see one of my clients. He might be interested," Ted promised.

Once they were finished eating, Andromeda suggested, "Arthur, until you find a new position and know how much you can afford to pay for a room, you can as well stay with us. We have a big house with many empty rooms. We can send our elf to fetch your belongings, and it doesn't matter if you stay for two weeks or six months. Ever since Nymphadora has begun her Auror training last summer, she barely comes home but very late at night."

Arthur tried his best to refuse, however, Andromeda and Ted were not willing to accept any answer but a positive one, and in the end, Arthur ended up staying in an extremely comfortable guest room in the Tonks' home.

HP

Too soon for Harry's liking, the school year ended, and the students were packing their belongings to travel home first thing in the morning.

"I'm going to miss you," Harry said to the twins. Even if he was spending the days training with the Unspeakables, he always ate dinner in the Great Hall and sometimes even breakfast. He had even devoted some time during the weekends to watching the house teams play Quidditch, and only two days ago, the twins had taken Susan and him for their first broom-rides.

_'That was the best thing I ever did,' _Harry thought, as he recalled how much fun they had flying around the Quidditch pitch trying to catch the Snitch. The funniest thing about it all was that it was always Harry, who managed to find the beautiful little ball, even if the twins had much more flying experience and were good enough to play on the Gryffindor house team.

HP

Even if the castle was deserted apart from a handful of teachers and Susan and Harry, he did not have time to feel lonely, as the Unspeakables kept him busy. By the time he was up-to-date with the Hogwarts first year curriculum in Charms, they began to teach him Defence.

The training room could be changed, for example, into a jungle full of dangerous magical animals, a desert with smaller yet poisonous creatures and many other, equally scary scenarios.

By the time Devil finished his training and let him go for the day, Harry was absolutely exhausted and – after dinner and a few quiet conversations with Susan, Amelia, Minerva, Sirius and Remus – could only crawl into bed.

_'Thank Merlin that I don't have training in the weekends,'_ he thought on Saturday mornings and slept as long as Sirius and Susan let him.

One Saturday, Susan woke him early in the morning. "Harry, wake up," she whispered, sounding excited, "they're going to take us into Hogsmeade."

"Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, lazily opening his eyes.

"Yes, come on and get up, so we can go right after breakfast. I can't wait to go to Honeydukes," Susan added, eagerly.

"All right," Harry agreed, inwardly groaning at the in his opinion untimely excitement. After a quick shower, he appeared at the breakfast table, mumbling a "Good morning."

The two Marauders greeted him, grinning broadly. "Harry, we're going to take you to Zonko's joke shop," Sirius explained, while Remus rolled his eyes in apparent annoyance.

"Harry," Amelia spoke up in a firm voice, "it's only a couple of days until your birthday. Is there anything that you'd like for your birthday?"

Harry looked at the kind witch in surprise, before he turned into auto-mode and replied, "I'm good."

Letting out a long sigh, Susan informed him, "Harry, Auntie would like to buy a present for you for your birthday, and I'd like to do the same. That's why we want to know what you'd like."

"Harry," Remus addressed him in a soft voice, "did the Dursleys never give you anything for your birthday?"

"No, I didn't have birthdays," Harry replied, matter-of-factly, "only Dudley had."

"Harry, remember Daphne's and Luna's birthday," Susan said, beseechingly. "Everyone gave them a present. You gave Luna the ear rings for her birthday and I the matching shawl."

"Oh," Harry replied, recalling how Amelia had taken them to Diagon Alley to buy gifts for Luna. "I don't know," he continued, as to the earlier question. "I have everything I ever wanted. I have you all as my family, I have friends, I even have a job plus a brilliant school to attend in a year's time," he thought aloud. "Maybe a Snitch if that's not too expensive," he finally decided. "We can always use the school brooms, but we can only get a Snitch to play if we find Madam Hooch and ask her," he added, causing Susan to nod, eagerly.

"That's true," she agreed. "I don't have a chance catching the Snitch against Harry, cause he's absolutely amazing at it, but it's a lot of fun," she explained to the others, grinning.

"We'll see about that," Sirius promised. "Now, shall we get ready and spend the day in Hogsmeade for a change?"

Everyone agreed, and thirty minutes later, Harry and Susan roamed the main street, while the adults were doing their own shopping, until they would meet at the Three Broomsticks for lunch at twelve o'clock. They checked each of the shops along the main street, and by the time they headed to the pub to meet the adults, their robe pockets were full with sweets, joke objects and other souvenirs, and both children were grinning happily, their cheeks red from excitement.

"That was much fun," Harry blurted out, when he pulled a small, black liquorice dog out of his robe pocket and handed it to Sirius. "For you," he added, grinning, before he gave Remus his present, a small chocolate teddy. "They didn't have wolves," he added, apologetically, causing everyone to either snort or laugh.

"Thanks Harry, and please believe me that a teddy bear is much better," Remus replied, chuckling.

HP

Harry's birthday was on Thursday, and when he woke up, feeling very excited to be ten and a big boy, everyone else in the founders' quarters was still asleep.

"I'm going to floo to the training room for breakfast," he decided, knowing that at least Ra, Raros and Devil were always up and having breakfast early in the mornings.

To his surprise, the three older wizards were not only present but also fully aware of the fact that it was the youngest Unspeakable's birthday.

For the first time in his life, at least as long as he could remember, people congratulated him, and each of them handed him a present.

Harry eyed the three presents, which were wrapped in colourful wrappings, with apprehension, just when Croaker arrived and placed a fourth present onto the table.

"Open mine first," Raros instructed him, and Harry hesitantly unwrapped the first present indicated by his teammate.

It was a small phial filled with a dark green liquid. He eyed the phial in confusion for a moment, before turning his eyes to his cousin, who smirked.

"It's the Animagus potion," he explained. "If you drink it, you're going to transform into the animal, which you're going to become if you manage the Animagus transformation. It'll only take five minutes, before you're going to change back automatically."

"Please note," Croaker spoke up, "that it won't make you an Animagus. It'll only show you what animal you might be able to become if you manage the transformation at all. There might even be multiple possibilities, considering how strong your magic is."

Harry's eyes lit in excitement. "Thank you so much," he blurted out. "May I try it out right away?"

The four older wizards nodded, simultaneously, and Devil pointed his wand at the floor next to the cafeteria, transfiguring the floor panels into a soft underground.

"Sit down there, before you take the potion," he advised him.

"Please note that the transformation might hurt," Ra added in a firm voice.

"All right," Harry replied and eagerly stood from his chair to sit on the soft underground, before he uncorked the small phial in excitement. _'It would be so cool to be an Animagus,_' he thought, as he slowly lifted the phial to his mouth, _'just like Sirius._'

A short while later, he felt as if his body was squashed and pressed into a small form, and his vision failed completely. When he could see again, he felt that everything around him was much bigger than before, and he heard that his colleagues were laughing.

_'What am I?'_ he thought, somehow feeling devastated upon realising that his form could not be so very inspiring. He carefully glanced down his small body, only to see red fur. '_Is that red or brown?_' he wondered, when he heard someone say, "A squirrel."

_'I'm a squirrel,'_ he realised in disappointment. During the next few minutes, he raised himself onto his four feet and tried to walk around, which was difficult. He kept stumbling and ended up on his belly multiple times, and when he felt the transformation commence again, he was not sad but in fact looking forward to being in his human form again.

However, by the time he opened his eyes again, he realised immediately that he was not back to his human form. His vision had expanded greatly, and he saw a lot of white feathers.

"A dove," one of his colleagues informed him, causing Harry to nod in understanding.

_'At least, I only have two feet,'_ he thought, feeling accomplished, when he managed to walk a few steps on his bird feet.

He was still checking out his form, when the transformation set in, and this time, he changed back in his human form.

"Having two possibilities for a form is good," Devil informed him, giving him an appreciative look.

"But a squirrel and a dove?" Harry replied, feeling somehow unenthusiastic.

"A dove is not so bad, as at least, you'd be able to fly," Raros commented, grinning.

'_I wonder if it's worth the effort_,' Harry thought. '_Be able to fly without a broom would have its merits though.'_

He was brought back to reality, when Ra handed him his gift. "Harry, please try this next," he said, smirking.

Harry's eyes widened, when another phial with another dark green liquid came out of the package. However, the colour was slightly different from the other, mainly because it was glimmering with small silver bits and pieces.

"What is it?" he enquired.

"This is the magical equivalent to the Animagus potion," Ra informed him. "Most people aren't able to become a magical animal; however, considering how powerful you are, even if your Animagus forms didn't show it, it might be possible for you. Go on and try it out," he suggested.

Without much excitement due to his earlier disappointment, Harry nodded and gulped down the potion, noticing that it did not taste bad.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate them very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	11. Another Birthday Party

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

By the time his vision returned, Harry felt that he was much bigger than before. Looking down his own body, he realised that it was covered by brown fur and that he had four legs again.

"A griffin," he heard someone say.

"Amazing," another of his colleagues commented.

Somehow, Harry felt comfortable, almost as if he knew that this was the adequate form for him. He thoroughly explored his form and managed to walk on his four feet. Before he could, however, flap his wings fast enough to take into the air, the time was up, and he automatically transformed back into his human form.

"That was brilliant," he blurted out, happily. "Will you please help me to become an Animagus? I'd love to become a griffin."

His colleagues laughed.

"We'll see what we can do," Croaker replied, while Devil handed Harry his present.

It was a book. '_A thorough Guide to the Animagus Transformation'_, Harry deciphered in excitement. "Thank you so much," he said, feeling absolutely thrilled at his discovery and present.

From Croaker, he received a large tome _'Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures_', and Harry cast the head Unspeakable a grateful look.

"Thank you so very much. This is amazing," he said, happily. "I know nothing about griffins."

"Now Flash, finish your breakfast, and then we're going to do some training," Devil instructed him, causing Harry to hurriedly obey.

_'If I was a squirrel, I could just climb that tree,_' he thought, when he found himself in a forest, where he had to fight a group of brown bears. '_Oh well, a griffin could just fly away,'_ he realised, as he fired ten stunning spells in a quick succession.

Training was as strenuous as always, however, when Devil returned the room to its usual state at lunchtime, he informed him that Harry was free to go home and enjoy the afternoon. "It's another birthday gift from us," the older wizard added, grinning.

"Oh, all right, thank you," Harry replied, feeling slightly overwhelmed at his suddenly found freedom. '_What am I going to do?'_ he wondered. '_No one is expecting me.' _

However, as Devil pressed his new books into his arm and said, "See you tomorrow," he slowly headed towards the fireplace. _'Ah, I'm going to read my books and begin working on the Animagus transformation_,' he resolved, and his steps quickened, as he made the detour to the team room to once again thank his teammates for their presents and say good-bye. However, the room was deserted, and Harry swiftly returned home.

HP

Stepping out of the fireplace, the founders' quarters were not as quiet as expected – on the contrary. It seemed that along with the teachers, who had remained at Hogwarts over the summer, his four Unspeakable teammates as well as all the children of the Great Alliance were there. He even saw the Weasley twins among the group of children sitting around a large table that had been set up in the centre of the room.

Before he could do as much as clean the soot off his clothes, his guests began to sing the birthday song.

_'For me!'_ Harry thought, incredulously, tears welling in his eyes, as he waited for everyone to finish singing. With the two books clutched into his arm, he slowly approached the table, noticing that the sole remaining chair was between the Greengrass girls and the Weasley twins.

"Harry," Amelia stepped over to him. "Shall I put these away for you for later?" she offered in a soft voice, pointing to the books.

"Yes please," Harry replied, smiling under tears.

"Is everything all right?" Amelia enquired.

"Yes," Harry nodded, smiling.

"He's just overwhelmed, aren't you, Harry?" Susan quickly came to his help, causing Harry to nod. "Come Harry, sit down and let's have lunch," the girl instructed him and pulled him over to the table.

Astoria pulled him into a light hug, whispering, "Happy Birthday, Harry."

"Thank you, and thanks for coming," Harry replied, feeling extremely happy.

_'My first birthday,_' he thought, when he became distracted by the other children's "aww"s and "oh"s, when lunch popped up on the table.

"Meals at Hogwarts are always brilliant, but during the holidays, the house-elves are so bored that they overdo themselves," he heard Susan explain and suddenly felt very grateful towards her and whoever had invited everyone for his birthday party.

When everyone else began to fill their plates with apparent enthusiasm, the twins addressed him.

"Hiya Harry," Fred and George whispered, grinning.

"Fred and George," Harry replied with a combination of surprise and happiness, as he liked the twins very much. "Great that you were able to come," Harry said, matter-of-factly, feeling extremely happy to see his friends.

"We're not living far away," the twins whispered, conspiratorially,

"… Our dad quit his job at the ministry…"

"… and is now working for a muggle insurance company…"

"… and they've bought a small house for him in Hogsmeade."

Harry stared at his friends with bewilderment. "I thought Hogsmeade was a magical village. How can a muggle company buy a house there?" he enquired in disbelief.

"Come and visit us some time…"

"… and Dad can tell you all about it," the twins replied, and – apparently noticing his apprehensive expression at the idea of meeting Ronald Weasley and his sister, added,

"Don't worry, neither Ron nor Ginny nor Mum will be there…"

"… they're still living at the Burrow…"

"… only Dad and us and Percy…"

"… and Bill…"

"… but he's going to be the Gryffindor head at Hogwarts from the next school year onwards and will move to the castle then."

_'Oh, so Minerva managed to convince him,'_ Harry thought, feeling happy at the idea, as he had encountered Bill a few times, and the boy had always been very friendly.

HP

When everyone had finished eating and rose from their chairs, Harry stepped over to his colleagues.

"How come you're just here in the open without any robes?" he whispered in confusion.

While Tonks changed her hair in all colours of the rainbow, Fabian explained, "We've cast a charm on ourselves that makes us look like someone else, not like our real selves. Only if you know who we are, you're able to see our true features."

"Oh," Harry replied, looking at the older wizard in amazement. "That's cool."

"It is," Fabian agreed, fondly ruffling Harry's hair. "Now, what do you think of a Quidditch match, little one?"

"Yes!" Harry happily agreed and turned to Susan, who had followed him. "Do you think we can play Quidditch?"

"Of course we can," Susan replied, grinning, as she admitted, "That was the plan anyway. Maybe you should open at least some of your presents before heading out though."

Susan led Harry into the parlour, where a huge table was covered with countless presents in colourful wrappings.

Harry cast her a helpless look. "Where should I begin?" he whispered, the words stuck in his throat upon realising that at all the children had followed them.

Susan nodded in understanding and picked two presents from the table. "Open these, and then we'll go and play Quidditch."

To Harry's disbelief, he did not only receive the Snitch he had wished for but also a brand-new broom.

"It's a Nimbus 2000," Sirius explained. "It's only going to be out in winter, but as Amelia is good friends with the owner, we managed to secure one for you in advance."

"Thank you so much," Harry replied and, with the broom in his one hand and the Snitch in the other, gushed, "Can we go now?"

"Let's play children versus adults," the twins suggested, once everyone was assembled on the Quidditch pitch and the children were equipped with brooms.

"We can't win against the adults," Harry replied in surprise.

The twins smirked.

"With you as the Seeker…"

"… we're predestined to win," they informed him, causing everyone to stare at them, wide-eyed.

Not everyone wanted to play, so that it was easy to form two teams of seven each without neglecting anyone, and soon, the teams were hovering in the air, while the spectators were watching from the teachers' stand.

After a few minutes, however, Harry landed on the ground.

"Harry, what's wrong?" Arcturus, who was the referee, as Madam Hooch had wanted to play herself and had happily accepted his offer, enquired.

"I must take a school broom," Harry admitted, sighing. "It's unfair to the others, because my own broom is much better."

"Ah, but today is your birthday, so it's all right, my boy," the old wizard reassured him and sent him back into the air.

They played three games children versus adults, however, even if the adults were better at scoring, Harry always managed to catch the Snitch, before they could get as much as 150 points ahead, and the children won each time.

"Harry, you must get yourself sorted into Gryffindor…"

"… and we'll talk our captain into making you the Seeker," the twins cheered.

"That way, Gryffindor will never lose a game again over the next eight years," Minerva added, smugly. "A brilliant idea, Messrs. Weasley."

HP

When all children had returned home after dinner and Harry and Susan sat together with the adults for tea, Harry told the adults what the twins had said about their father.

Sirius grinned broadly. "Arthur Weasley was really lucky," he began to explain. "Ted Tonks, the husband of my cousin Drommie, is a solicitor, and one of his long-time clients is the owner of Galaxy Insurance in London, one of the largest muggle insurance companies. He's a Squib though, and he wanted a wizard or witch as a Claims Assessor. Being able to cast magic on, for example, cars after an accident, can reduce people's claims to a great deal, plus he would be able to slip Veritaserum to people to see about their sincerity, ask what really happened and so on…"

"Ah, so it saves the insurance company a lot of money," Harry interrupted in understanding.

"Exactly, and if Arthur does his job well, which I don't doubt in the slightest, Mr. Spears, the owner of the company, intends to make him his successor, when he retires in a few years' time," Sirius added, grinning. "Arthur really hit the mark this time. He contacted me the other day and thanked me for offering to help out the twins, which now isn't necessary anymore. He earns about five times the money that he got at the ministry."

"Wow, that's a lot," Susan blurted out.

Sirius nodded. "He deserves it though. Arthur is a good man. He even left his wife after what she did to Harry. By the way, the twins told me they still intend to have their own joke shop after Hogwarts," he added as an afterthought.

"Oh, that's going to be so much fun," Harry replied, grinning in anticipation.

"And Andromeda agreed to become the Slytherin head of house and introduced a young wizard to us for Ravenclaw," Remus spoke up, smiling.

"Who is it?" Susan asked with apparent interest.

"It's Chester Davies," Amelia informed her. "He graduated two years ago and took a position at the ministry, however, he's not happy there, and when we offered the head of house position to him, he immediately accepted."

HP

With his Unspeakables training, dinner with the students, evenings with his family and Sundays with the children of the Great Alliance, time past very quickly for Harry. Before he realised it, he received his Hogwarts letter along with everyone else from the Children's Alliance.

To their delight, Amelia decided to make an exception for Astoria and Luna and accept both girls, whose mothers were employed at Hogwarts, a year earlier than scheduled, and the children became extremely excited at the idea of becoming students soon.

"Harry, do you think there's any way to bribe the Hat to sort all of us together?" Susan spoke up one day. "I really want to do everything together with you and all of our friends."

"Yeah, that would be brilliant," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "I don't have a clue, but why don't we ask Godric."

"That's true, considering that he's the one who charmed Sopho," Susan agreed, and the children hurried back to the founders' quarters.

"That's not what Sopho is charmed like," Godric replied, glaring at the children. "He's supposed to sort you according to your personalities and not your wishes."

Harry nodded in understanding. "I know, but… Let's go and ask Sopho directly," he suggested, and Susan immediately agreed.

"Oh right, let's go immediately – who knows when the teachers' meeting ends and Auntie is going to return to her office," Susan replied, grinning mischievously.

Together, the two eleven-year-olds headed through the connecting door into the headmistress' office and took position in front of the Sorting Hat that was residing on a book shelf.

With a flick of his wand, Harry cast a Silencing spell around themselves and the book shelf, before he addressed the Hat in a soft voice. "Sopho, may we speak to you for a moment please?"

"What? No," the Hat refused, sounding grumpy. "It's merely three more weeks until your Sorting, and you're going to have to wait as long as everyone else," he growled.

"Sopho," Harry replied, beseechingly, "we thought we could perhaps make a deal with you. We could promise to do you a favour if you in turn promise to sort us together with our friends."

"What do you think of such a deal?" Susan added. "Is there anything you'd like?"

The Hat let out a sound resembling a scoff. "How many are you?" he enquired, still sounding grumpy.

"15," Susan replied, hesitantly.

"Fifteen?" Sopho growled. "That's as much as the first-year population of exactly one house. You can't really expect me…"

"Sopho, isn't there anything that you wish for?" Harry enquired, "that we could perhaps do for you?"

The Hat remained thoughtful for a couple of minutes, and the children were slowly becoming impatient, knowing that Amelia could return to either her office or the founders' living room any minute now, when he finally spoke up.

"I want you to take me to the founders' quarters and give me a proper bath. I haven't got a bath for an extremely long time, and I feel really filthy."

Harry and Susan stared at the Hat. "Sopho, are you sure that the water won't harm you?" Harry finally enquired.

"It won't. Just do it," Sopho growled. "Godric has washed me before."

Susan hesitantly took the Hat from the shelf and carefully carried it into the founders' quarters, ignoring the founders, who were observing their doing with apparent interest.

"Do you want a warm bath?" Harry enquired, worried that warm water might harm the Hat.

"Of course," Sopho replied, firmly.

While Susan prepared the bath, Harry quickly cleared the Hat from a couple of red bird feathers.

"Thanks," Sopho said, seemingly grateful. "That fleabag of Fawkes always comes too near, when he visits."

"Is he still visiting you?" Harry asked in surprise, unaware that his familiar was friends with the Sorting Hat and sometimes visited him.

Upon Susan's wave of her hand, he carefully lowered the Hat into the lukewarm water, forgetting that the Hat was a product of craftsman of about 1000 years ago. It was not made for modern detergents.

"Oh, it's lovely. It's warm, and it's great, but it feels funny," Sopho said, sounding relaxed. "Maybe just leave me here to soak for a little while. I haven't soaked for more than eight hundred years. The last time was when Heppo the Stupid sneezed on me."

Harry and Susan returned to the living room, where the adults had arrived in the meantime, leaving the Hat to its own devices and a luxury soak in the bath.

It was only two hours later, when they made their way back to the bathroom intending to remove the Hat from the bath and return it to the headmistress' office, that they realised that Sopho was cursing and swearing.

The modern detergents in the water had turned Sopho into a sludge. He was completely transformed into his fibres. He was no longer a Hat but looked like brown porridge.

His magic was still there, and he said, "How are you two geniuses going to fix this one? Apparently, modern soaps and old magic don't mix."

Susan and Harry exchanged a horrified look. "Sirius," Harry finally said. "He's got to help us." He quickly returned to the living room and addressed his godfather. "Sirius, could you come please? We really need your help."

Quirking an eyebrow in silent question, Sirius rose from his spot on the sofa and slowly went into the direction, from where his godson had called, shaking his head in apparent annoyance as he went.

Harry carefully closed the door behind Sirius, not wanting to alert everyone to their mishap.

"Sopho wanted us to give him a bath," Susan explained, "but when we did, he ended up like this."

A lone tear was leaking running down her cheek, and Harry gave the older wizard a pleading look. "Can you please help us?" he asked, his voice laced with concern and hope at the same time.

Examining the situation with a sharp look at the bathtub, the Marauder began to laugh his head off.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate them very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. Have a nice weekend!_


	12. The Sorting

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

**_If you have not read chapter 11 yet, as I only posted it the day before yesterday, please go back and read chapter 11 before continuing here._**

* * *

"Best prank ever," Sirius uttered, laughing. "Give me a moment," he said, once he had calmed down from his laughing fit. "I'm just going to fetch something."

"Susan, don't worry, we'll somehow manage to help Sopho," Harry said calmingly to the girl, who had now tears running down her cheek, in spite of being terrified himself.

The girl nodded under tears, looking towards the door in apparent expectation.

When Sirius returned, he was carrying an old looking baseball cap decorated with the symbol of the Chudley Cannons as well as a small phial with some colourless liquid.

_'What's he going to do with that?'_ Harry wondered in bewilderment.

Holding the cap in one hand, Sirius began to mix the soft mass with the clear liquid, before he brought it into form adding the mixture to the surface of the cap.

"What's that liquid?" Harry enquired.

"Glue," his godfather informed him. "Now, it only has to dry for," he shrugged, "maybe an hour or so, and then he'll be as good as new."

"Please don't tell Auntie anything yet," Susan whispered, when they slowly made their way back to the living room, knowing that there was nothing that they could do for Sopho right now.

"All right," Harry agreed, giving his friend a reassuring nod.

However, when Amelia asked Sirius what they were doing, the older wizard admitted, "Giving the Sorting Hat a bath."

"You what?" Amelia blurted out, incredulously, looking from Sirius to the children in bewilderment.

To Harry's relief, Sirius saved the situation for the time being by telling a couple of stories about the various Sortings that the Marauders had observed during their time at Hogwarts.

However, when the trio returned to the bathroom to retrieve the Hat, they could not hide anymore what had happened.

Sirius carefully separated his old cap from the fibre that he had added, nodding contentedly at the newly made cap, which apart from the slightly faded colour looked like new.

"Let's leave the colour as it is," he decided and with a quick flick of his wand added the Hogwarts crest to the peak.

Harry and Susan stared at Sopho's new form in shock, when a small opening appeared just above the peak that quickly became larger until it was stretched to a mouth.

"A Sorting Hat needs a mouth," Sopho declared, causing the children to sigh in relief.

"Sorry Sopho, but you're not a Sorting Hat anymore, you're only a Sorting Cap," Sirius replied, grinning.

"What a shame," Remus said, looking at the cap in Susan's hands.

"I believe that it looks quite adequate," Amelia replied, "even if I believe that it needs some getting used to."

"What about tradition?" Minerva spoke up, giving Susan and Harry a strict look.

The cap stretched itself higher, before Sopho announced, "I'm a proper Sorting Hat after a much-needed refreshment. Harry and Susan, thank you so much for your assistance. I have longed for that bath for hundreds of years."

HP

On Sunday, they told their friends everything about their endeavour with the Sorting Hat that was now a cap, and the friends stared at them in clear amazement.

"Such a thing can only happen to the two of you," Daphne said, rolling her eyes in apparent amusement.

"Ah, I can't wait to finally meet Sopho," Astoria blurted out what everyone else thought.

"Please," Harry spoke up, hesitantly, "don't tell anyone that it was Susan and me who did that. It's bad enough that Amelia, Minerva, Remus and Sirius know."

"We won't tell," Luna promised, "but we really hope that it was enough fun for him to sort us all together."

HP

On the first of September, Amelia apparated Susan to King's Cross, and Harry, who was already able to pop himself like the Unspeakables had taught him during his first year with them, merely followed the two witches to the platform.

"Let's go and prepare a compartment to fit all of us," Harry suggested, and the two of them quickly said good-bye to the headmistress and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

Entering the first open compartment, Harry pulled his wand and cast a charm, which Regulus had taught him a few days ago, causing the compartment to become bigger on the inside with enough space to fit fifteen people.

Several people opened the door, however, looking at the enlarged place in apparent bewilderment, they quickly retreated and walked along the corridor. Only their friends entered the compartment, squealing happily at the realisation that they could all sit together.

During the long travel, they talked about Hogwarts, which they all knew quite well due to having spent every Sunday in the castle, about the teachers and the Sorting.

"Well, Hannah, you're the first to be sorted, at least if they do it in an alphabetic sequence," Susan spoke up. "Please tell Sopho that you belong to the group of Harry and me and ask him to sort us all together."

"I will," Hannah promised. "You all have to tell him the same though. In which house do we want him to sort us though?"

"Doesn't matter," Susan replied, shrugging.

"I suppose that he'll know who belongs to our group anyway," Harry said, thoughtfully. "He's a powerful magical artefact after all."

"He wasn't so powerful the other day," Susan recalled, chuckling.

"Oh well, that was that," Harry muttered. "Amelia said that he was completely back to his usual annoying self though."

HP

Harry got a boat together with Daphne, Astoria and Susan, and the four children thoroughly enjoyed the ride over the lake.

"They were right," Astoria said in clear amazement. "The view from here is absolutely beautiful."

_'That it is,'_ Harry thought, admiringly, while the other girls voiced their agreement.

Professor McGonagall greeted them and led them into the ante chamber, where she told them a few words about the four houses.

_'Oh Merlin, we have to be careful to properly address the teachers,'_ Harry thought, as Susan and he were used to address the adults by their given names. Suddenly, he was brought out of his musings, when a very upset sounding voice spoke up.

"What are you doing here?" someone hissed in apparent anger. "You're only ten."

"My mother is working here," a girl's voice, which Harry immediately recognised as Luna's, replied, airily. "Therefore, I'm allowed to become a first year now – just like Astoria."

Turning around to view the scene, Harry recognised Ronald Weasley. Rolling his eyes in annoyance at the redhead, he said in a firm voice, "Leave Luna and Astoria in peace."

"Ho hoot, got yourself two little girlfriends, Potter?" Draco Malfoy, who had already annoyed Harry and his friends on the train, spoke up before turning to Ron. "And you, blood-traitor Weasley, should know better than to question your betters."

"My sister is the same age, and she'd loved to come here and become a first year together with us," the stroppy redhead continued.

"Be glad that you were allowed to come to Hogwarts at all," Daphne spoke up in a strict voice. "You and your sister were the ones who gave us out to Dumbledore, when we invited all the children of the Great Alliance including Harry for my tenth birthday. As Harry is the owner of Hogwarts, he could have well forbidden either of you to attend at all."

"Well said, Daphne," Susan said in a soft voice, just when Minerva returned.

"The Sorting Cap is ready for you," she announced and ushered the first-years into the Great hall.

HP

Together with his friends and the other first-years, Harry stood in front of the high table, from where the teachers were smiling at them. Each of them knew the group of Harry and his friends, and Susan and he had spent much time during the summer assisting the teachers with their preparations for the new school year – even if Susan had done much more than Harry, who still had worked with the Unspeakables on a daily basis.

_'It'll be strange to only go to the Unspeakables' office on Sundays and for the meeting on Wednesday evenings,'_ Harry thought, absentmindedly listening to Sopho's traditional song.

He was brought back to reality, when a redheaded boy from the Gryffindor table addressed the Hat.

"Sorting Hat, what happened to you?" the boy, whom Harry recognised as Percy Weasley, enquired.

"My owner saw to it that I underwent a much-needed refreshing, and I'm a Sorting Cap now," Sopho replied in a firm voice, only to add, "Minnie, I'm ready as ever to sort the new firsties now, before anyone else bothers me with stupid questions."

Minerva nodded in the Sorting Cap's direction and began to read the names from her long scroll.

Hannah was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Harry inwardly sighed in relief, when Susan was sorted there as well.

"Ah, couldn't they have chosen a house with a less strict head?" Astoria mumbled, only for Daphne and Harry, who were standing on both sides of her, to hear.

Harry chuckled. "I don't think your Mum is so bad," he whispered back in amusement. "I just hope he'll put each of us into Hufflepuff."

To the children's relief, Sopho seemed to be contented with his refreshment as he called it and sorted the whole group of friends into Hufflepuff – except for Harry.

When Harry sat on the stool and allowed Minerva to put the cap onto his head, he felt confident that Sopho would sort him together with the others, just like Neville, who had just made his way to the Hufflepuff table.

However, instead of shouting his house to the Hall, Sopho thought straight into his mind. 'You're the owner of Hogwarts, so I can't sort you just into one house.'

'But…' Harry began to respond, however, stopped himself, when Sopho shouted into the hall. "Founders' quarters."

Tearing the hat from his head, Harry tossed it at Minerva, casting the deputy headmistress a devastated look.

"Just sit at one of the tables, Mr. Potter. We'll think about what to do afterwards," Minerva said in a gentle voice, and like in a trance, Harry made his way to the Hufflepuff table.

He had barely made two steps in the direction of his friends, when he turned around upon hearing Sopho speak again.

"Harry, as the owner of Hogwarts, you can do as you wish anyway, and it shouldn't be a problem for you to ask the house-elves to put an additional bed into the Hufflepuff first-year boys' dormitory," the Hat told him. "Just only see to it that it's the boys' dormitory and not the girls' room."

Shaking his head in a combination of relief and annoyance at the Sorting Cap's antics, Harry let himself sink into the seat next to Neville.

Each of his friends joined them at the Hufflepuff table, and Harry inwardly sighed in relief, when Ronald Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor. _'Thank Merlin, we won't even have classes together with that jerk,'_ he thought, as the first-years began to introduce themselves to their older housemates.

"Harry," one of the older boys, whom Harry knew to be Cedric Diggory, the Seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, suddenly addressed him, "Are you ready to play Seeker for us?"

"First years aren't allowed to play on the house teams," a girl with bushy brown hair spoke up, who was sitting right behind Harry at the Ravenclaw table.

"Never mind that," Harry replied, knowing that Amelia and Minerva had already decided to skip that rule, "but aren't you the Seeker, Cedric?"

"I was, but if you agree to play, I'm going to be the Keeper," Cedric replied, grinning. "Believe me, having you as our Seeker is worth a little change."

"Then I'll play, even if officially, I don't even belong to Hufflepuff. I hope no one will mind," Harry replied, feeling very excited at the prospect of playing on the house team.

"Congratulations Harry," Susan, who was sitting opposite of him, whispered.

"Thanks," Harry whispered back, grinning happily.

HP

Right after dinner, Mary, one of the Hufflepuff fifth-year prefects, led the first-years to the Hufflepuff common room, where Jessica Greengrass greeted them and introduced herself as the Hufflepuff head of house.

"What a strange Sorting," Brian, one of the seventh-years spoke up. "We've never had fifteen first-years at once. Ten was the most so far. The dormitories are going to be extremely crowded."

Mrs. Greengrass looked over the group of first-years, knowing immediately that it was their children's group of friends. "Let me guess: You asked the Sorting Cap to sort you together, didn't you?"

"Oh, we'd never do such a thing," Astoria was the first to reply, while everyone else nodded, grinning.

"Well, I'm certain that the house-elves will be able to do something about the dormitories, so that they won't get too crowded," their head of house decided.

"Have you seen Filch?" Susan whispered to Harry, when one of the older students engaged Mrs. Greengrass into a small discussion about curfew. "He's wearing a cap like Sopho, only he's wearing it the wrong way round. How stupid can one be?"

"I haven't seen him yet," Harry replied, shrugging. "Maybe he likes how Sopho looks now."

"Well, it looks like a normal muggle cap, and since Filch is a Squib, he might like muggle things," one of the older students supplied.

Harry nodded, resolving to take a look at Filch at the next opportunity.

When their discussion with Mrs. Greengrass was over, the first-years were ushered into their dormitories. Harry took in the large room with curiosity. There were four four-poster beds, which looked very inviting. While Ernie and Seamus immediately occupied the beds that were nearer to the door, Harry followed Neville to the window side, realising that their luggage had already been brought to their corners of the room.

_'It's nice to be able to look out onto the grounds from my bed,' _Harry thought, feeling very happy that it was right next to the large window. It was almost the same view which he had from his room in the founders' quarters, and Harry felt extremely comfortable.

HP

While the first-years made themselves comfortable in their new dormitories, Amelia, Sirius, Minerva and Remus were relaxing in the living room of the founders' quarters as usual, discussing the events of the Sorting ceremony and the beginning of the school year, when Barney, Hogwarts head house-elf, popped into the room.

"Mistress Amelia," he addressed the headmistress in a grave voice. "We, the house-elves, has observed that Twinkle, Albus Dumbledore's house-elf was in the castle earlier. He watched the Sorting ceremony in a corner of the Great Hall. We does not know why Twinkle was here. We is sorry. We should have asked him and tolds him not to come back here."

"Dumbledore's elf?" Amelia asked, incredulously, glancing at Minerva. "Dumbledore was not here though, only his elf?" she enquired.

"Yes, Mistress Amelia," Barney confirmed, nodding his head.

"Thanks for alerting me to the matter," Amelia said in a firm voice. "I believe that there's nothing that we can do about it. If he comes again, please tell him to leave immediately."

"We wills do that," Barney promised, before he popped away with a small crack.

"Oh Merlin, can the old coot not leave us in peace?" Sirius groaned, causing everyone to agree.

HP

"Harry is in Hufflepuff?" Albus repeated what his house-elf told him in disbelief. "He should have been in Gryffindor – or perhaps even in Slytherin due to the residue from Voldemort behind his scar."

He profusely thanked Twinkle, before he dismissed him, making himself comfortable in his favourite arm chair to ponder the situation.

_'Harry shouldn't be too comfortable at Hogwarts,'_ he thought. _'He should continue thinking that he wasn't worth anything – like the Dursleys have taught him following my instructions. It probably won't take too long before Voldemort returns, and we need Harry to be willing to sacrifice himself. In the end, it must be me to vanquish Voldemort for good.'_

HP

The Hufflepuffs had most classes together with the Ravenclaws, and Harry realised in surprise that the Hufflepuff first-years outnumbered their Ravenclaw classmates by far, as there were only eight Ravenclaws in contrary to their own fifteen.

One of them was a girl with bushy brown hair, who mostly kept her finger in the air, seemingly eager to share her knowledge. Whenever a teacher asked any question, her finger shot into the air, and when the teachers allowed her to answer a question, she let out a monologue quoting something from one or the other book.

'_What a twat,_' was Harry's first thought. However, upon hearing that she was muggleborn, he recalled a time, when he had to be quiet at school, so as to not let anyone know that he could better than his cousin. '_Who knows what she has been through as a witch in the muggle world all by herself,'_ he thought and resolved to get to know her better.

HP

Mr. Filch was a completely different matter. Harry and his friends had never liked the caretaker, who always seemed to be merely waiting for them to bring mud into the castle, so that he could shout at them and threaten to hang them up by their ankles. When Harry got a good look at the man to find out about the cap that Susan had told him about, however, he found him even stranger than before, and he realised in surprise that his head began to hurt.

To his disbelief, this was not a one-time thing, but during the next weeks, he got a headache, whenever he came close to the Squib. _'How strange,'_ he thought, resolving to keep away from the Squib if ever possible.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the overwhelming reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate them very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. Have a nice weekend!_

_**A.N.: As part of this story is going to play in the city, where I am living, I decided to make a FB group, so that I can post additional information there. Of course, any other of my stories are up for discussion, too. Any ideas, comments, questions, critisizm etc. are very welcome: As the link can't be written here, I ask you to go to my profile page to find the link.**_


	13. Halloween

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

Remus Lupin lowered himself onto the bench next to the lake and stared into the water where the full moon was reflected. It looked absolutely beautiful and beyond his imagination.

_'It's already fifteen months since I was cured thanks to Salazar, Harry and Pandora, and I still can't believe it,'_ he thought, unaware of the tears of gratitude running down his face.

He recalled the many times, when the Marauders had kept him company in the forest. At first, it had been an – what he had thought of stupid – idea of Sirius, who had absolutely wanted to find a way to help poor, sick Remus, but when they managed to transform into animals and distract him from hurting himself during the nights of the full moon, he had been thrilled and extremely grateful.

"Remus?" A gentle voice brought him back to reality, when Miranda, the History of Magic professor, slipped into the bench next to him. "Are you all right?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," Remus replied, reassuringly. "I'm just enjoying the fantastic view onto the lake on a full moon night."

Miranda nodded. "That's true, it is beautiful. Why are you crying though if I may ask? Would you like to talk about it?"

Remus smiled. "Thanks for your concern, but everything is all right. I'm really just only enjoying myself. In fact," he added, deciding to tell the truth, "I've only been cured from lycanthropy fifteen months ago, and I still can't believe that I'm now able to sit here and just enjoy the full moon."

"You were a werewolf?" she whispered, her eyes widening at the idea.

"Yes," Remus replied matter-of-factly, "but only during this one night a month. While we were students here, I used to spend that night in the Shrieking Shack – making everyone think it was haunted by ghosts."

Miranda let out a small laugh. "While in fact it was you, the werewolf making all that noise? That's brilliant, in fact one of the best pranks of the Marauders."

Remus shook his head. "No, it wasn't the Marauders, it was Dumbledore who came up with it. After my fellow Marauders became Animagi and kept me company, we mostly spent the nights in the forest."

Miranda smiled. "Remus, I'm sorry, I've no idea, but if you don't mind me asking, how was it, being a werewolf?" she asked, seeming hesitant.

"Horrible," Remus admitted. "First of all, I always hurt myself, before my friends were able to keep me company and distract myself, and then I was always afraid that anyone would notice what I am and that I wouldn't be able to finish Hogwarts."

"But you were lucky and no one noticed," Miranda said in understanding. "I didn't have a clue until you told me now," she added. "You've done an amazing job, because all my friends and I ever did was wonder why it wasn't you who was made prefect and also head boy instead of James Potter. You and Lily were the most studious, patient and reliable students of your whole year."

"Thanks," Remus replied, smiling. "How do you like teaching History of Magic by the way?" he then asked deciding to change the topic.

"I love it," Miranda replied, looking happy. "I believe that my students like it, too. At least they don't sleep like we always did with the ghost teaching, and several students have told me how happy they were that I replaced old Binns."

"Oh, I've heard that the students are thrilled to have a wonderful teacher after so many years," Remus said, having heard enough students talk about the matter.

"Well, it's not so different with Defence Against the Dark Arts," Miranda informed him. "I've heard many students talk about finally having a good teacher for a second term after having new and hardly good ones all the time."

When the moon hid behind dark clouds and they felt the cold of the late October night, the two teachers returned to the castle.

_'She's really nice,_' Remus thought, as he returned to the founders' quarters. _'I wonder why were never really noticed her during our time here. She was in Gryffindor in the year under us.'_

HP

"Moony has a girlfriend," Sirius blurted out, when Harry stepped out of the fireplace on his way back from the Unspeakables' meeting, which he attended every Wednesday evening.

"What?" Harry asked, feeling very happy for his surrogative godfather. "Who is it, Remus?"

Remus shook his head in clear annoyance. "It's nothing, Harry. Padfoot is merely exaggerating as usual. I was out to watch the full moon, and she joined me, and we exchanged a few words. That's all. I merely said that she was nice."

"Sirius," Harry growled, letting out a sigh of exasperation. "Don't tell such things if they aren't true."

"Not true yet," Sirius emphasized the last word, grinning broadly.

"Everything good at the Unspeakables' place?" Remus enquired, gently.

Harry shrugged. The Unspeakables were sure that Voldemort had made Horcruxes and was still alive in some form of spirit, so they were working on finding him and his Horcruxes at the same time, which turned out to be extremely difficult, as practically anything could have been used as Horcrux. However, he was not allowed to tell his godfathers any of that. He even had the impression as if there was something else that the Unspeakables had not told him yet, however, he trusted them to have his best interests in mind.

"I think I'm going to bed," he said instead.

"Yeah, tomorrow it's going to be late, too, with the Halloween feast and such," Sirius replied, yawning.

HP

_'Too bad that Halloween wasn't yesterday,'_ Harry thought, as he took his seat at the Hufflepuff table. _'I'd have preferred the Unspeakables' meeting to a feast. For me, Halloween isn't a feast but the night, on which my parents died.'_

He looked up in surprise, when Astoria and Luna approached him from behind, calling him in what sounded distressed voices.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving the girls a sharp look.

"Come," Astoria instructed him, reaching for his arm.

"I'll be right back," Harry whispered to Susan and hurriedly followed the girls out of the Great Hall.

"What happened?" he enquired.

"It's Hermione," Astoria informed him, "you know the Ravenclaw girl who's so good in class."

"I know her," Harry confirmed.

"She's been crying in the girls' toilets the whole afternoon," Astoria said, urgently.

"She tried to help Ronald and a few other Gryffindors with their homework, and Ronald said some really mean things to her. I still think there are wrackspurts clouding his brain," Luna added.

"What does this whole matter concern me?" Harry thought aloud.

"You're the owner of Hogwarts," Astoria reminded him, giving him a sharp look.

"That's true," Harry agreed. "I'll go and speak to her. You can go back to the Great Hall. The feast is going to commence soon."

The girls shook their heads. "We won't let you go into the girls' toilets just by yourself," Luna assured him, and the girls quickly led him to the girls' wash room, where Hermione was still crying her eyes out.

HP

"Hermione," Harry addressed the girl in a soft voice. "Please come out here and speak to me."

He waited patiently until, a few minutes later, the bushy-headed girl slowly emerged from one of the toilets, slowly turning a teary-eyed face to him.

Glad that Astoria and Luna were standing silently on the far side of the room, so that Hermione had not noticed them yet, Harry spoke up, patiently.

"Will you tell me what happened, please?" he enquired, giving the girl a small smile.

"I tried to help our Gryffindor classmates in the library," Hermione admitted. "They were working on their Charms homework, but doing a less than poor job on it. But when I tried to make them see reason, Ronald shouted at me. He said that I was a bookworm and an insufferable know-it-all and that it was clear that everyone hated me and I didn't have friends," she continued under sobs.

Harry slowly reached out and gently laid his hand on her arm. All too well, he remembered his own time at the muggle primary school, where he had been bullied not only by his cousin but also by everyone else who was scared of Dudley and his gang.

"Hermione, Ronald is a pampered, self-centred prat," he said in a soft voice. "At least that's my impression. Considering that we don't have classes together, I can't say much about his intellect." He remained pensive for a moment, before deciding to admit some things to the girl.

"We, my friends and I," he continued, still not taking his hand off her arm, "are all children of the Great Alliance, which is an alliance of old magical families, something that our families set up years or even decades ago. We're very lucky. I knew nothing about all of this, because I grew up with my muggle relatives, and Albus Dumbledore forbade everyone to contact me. When the children of the Great Alliance invited me for the first time, about one and a half years ago, in spite of Dumbledore's order, Ronald and his sister told their mother and she gave me out to Dumbledore, causing much trouble for my friends and me. Ever after this, we haven't included Ron into our group anymore. That's why he isn't in Hufflepuff together with us. He's a real prat."

Hermione's tears had stopped running, and she was now looking at him with apparent interest.

"To cut a long story short, he is not worth getting so upset about," Harry concluded his explanation, noticing from the corner of his eyes that Luna and Astoria quietly stole themselves out of the bathroom.

"His words are true though," Hermione admitted in a small voice. "I've never had as much as one friend. In the muggle world, everyone thought that I was a freak, and here, they think that I'm a know-it-all."

"I was called freak my whole life," Harry countered. "Even my relatives called me that."

"Really?" Hermione gasped.

"Really," Harry said, dryly. "As to the know-it-all part, maybe you should just hold a bit back in class. As to not having as much as one friend, we can be friends if you like, and I don't think any of my friends would mind being friends with you, too. In fact, it was Astoria and Luna who fetched me and asked me to talk to you tonight. Why don't you come with me and attend the Halloween feast together with us?"

"But you're in Hufflepuff, and I'm in Ravenclaw," Hermione said, giving him a questioning look.

Harry scoffed. "Originally, the Sorting Cap wanted to place me into the founders' quarters, as I'm the owner of Hogwarts. He only said that I'd be welcome in Hufflepuff together with my friends. Fortunately, no one really thought about it, so that I'm even able to play on the house team. In any case, there are only four occasions during the school year, on which students have to sit at their house table." Seeing that Hermione was hanging on his words, he continued, "The welcoming feast at the beginning of the school year and in the new year as well as the leaving feast before Christmas and at the end of the school year. At any other time, you're welcome to sit where you wish."

"Is that true?" Hermione asked, wide-eyed. "But in Hogwarts: A History…"

"Never mind that," Harry interrupted her. "I'm the owner of Hogwarts, and I just made this decision," he explained, grinning.

The girl cast him a shy smile. "Thank you, Harry."

Harry returned the smile. "Friends?" he asked.

Hermione nodded, fervently. "Yes, thanks," she confirmed. "Sorry," she added, "could we perhaps make a small detour to the library?" she then asked. "When I left so abruptly this morning, I left all my things there, even my wand, and I'd like to go and fetch everything before attending the feast."

"Of course," Harry replied, shrugging. "Madam Pince will have a fit otherwise."

The two first-years quickly headed to the now deserted library, and Hermione gathered her belongings, before she let out a loud gasp.

"My wand! It's gone!"

"It must be somewhere," Harry replied in a soothing voice and lowered himself to the floor to look under the tables.

However, as much as the two first-years searched, they could not find Hermione's wand.

"Well, let's go and attend the feast in any case. Maybe someone has kept it for you," Harry finally said and led the distraught girl to the Great Hall, where the Halloween feast was already full under way.

Harry did not even have to explain anything, before Susan and Daphne slid aside, so that Hermione could fit into the bench together with them.

'Amelia,' Harry thought to the headmistress, glad that the Unspeakables had so diligently taught him telepathy, 'Hermione left her belongings in the library earlier, and now her wand is gone. We searched everywhere, but it's really gone.'

The headmistress cast him a look of pure alarm, before she rose from her chair. "Dear students, dear colleagues, it has been brought to my attention that Ms. Granger's wand has gone missing. She has last had it in the library earlier today. If anyone has seen it or had the audacity to do as much as play a prank hiding it, I expect the culprit to hand it back to Ms. Granger or over to myself before curfew tonight. Thank you."

With that, Amelia sat down, and the noise in the hall that had stopped for a moment flared up again.

"Where exactly did you leave it?" Susan enquired.

Hermione shrugged. "I think that it was just lying on the table together with my books, notes and everything. Only when I returned there just now, it was gone."

Turning to Harry, she enquired, "How did you let Professor Bones know? You were sitting here together with me ever since we arrived."

'Telepathy,' Harry thought into her mind. 'But please don't tell anyone. People mustn't know that I can do it.'

"How strange," Daphne mused aloud.

"The wrackspurts must have clouded someone's mind to take a first-year's wand," Luna spoke up, airily, as she dipped a slice of bell pepper into her chocolate pudding.

HP

The Halloween evening had two consequences – one being that Hermione's wand remained missing, the other that the children of the Great Alliance proceeded to include Hermione into their group. They even brought her with them into the founders' quarters on Saturday, which was when the group now met in the founders' rooms instead of Sundays, when Harry was now gone for his training with the Unspeakables.

Hermione was absolutely delighted upon seeing the founders' painting and having the opportunity of asking the four ancient people everything concerning Hogwarts.

When Hermione's wand had not reappeared even a week after Halloween, Chester Davies, the Ravenclaw head of house, decided to take Hermione to Ollivander's to buy a new wand, and upon their return, Harry realised that having no wand had stressed Hermione immensely.

"If people go as far as take my wand from me, can you imagine what they could do to me?" Hermione whispered to him, when they met in the founders' quarters the following Saturday.

"I can imagine," Harry replied. "It's still absolutely strange, as everyone here has their own wands anyway. Who in the world would play such a prank on you?"

"I don't have a clue," Hermione replied, sadly shaking her head.

HP

"Harry, I'm not sure if that was a prank," Ra told him upon hearing the whole story. "Unfortunately, I can imagine someone who'd be in need of a wand."

"Who might that be?" Harry enquired, before a sudden idea crossed his mind. "Voldemort. But he's not at Hogwarts now, is he?"

"Let's hope as much," Raros replied, his expression clouded with apparent concern.

HP

During the leaving feast before the beginning of the Christmas holidays, Harry suddenly gripped his head in pain. The pain was unbearable, and it was concentrated on the part of his forehead where his scar was. During the last couple of months, this part of his forehead had always hurt, when Harry was somewhere near Mr. Filch; however, it had never been so bad.

"I can feel someone's emotions," he admitted to Susan, who was sitting on his left hand side. "Someone is incredibly happy about something. He can finally do magic again. I've no idea, but I'm going to return to the common room. I'm not hungry," he added, as he slowly rose from his chair.

"Wait, I'm coming with you," Susan replied and hurried behind him, closely followed by Astoria, who had heard the conversation from Harry's other side.

Just an instant later, Hermione rose from her chair as well as Minerva, who had both observed the scene and, even if they had not been able to understand as much as a spoken word, clearly realised that Harry seemed to be in utmost distress.

HP

When Harry arrived in the entrance hall, he noticed that Filch, the supposed to be Squib, was standing in the entrance hall, carving runes into the floor with a wand. Before he could even comprehend the situation, Susan, Astoria, Hermione and Minerva joined him, and Minerva immediately addressed the caretaker.

"Mr. Filch, what is the matter of this?" she enquired in a strict voice.

'_He must be Voldemort,_' Harry realised. _'Since he is the one who gave me the scar, he'll be the only one who can make it hurt. Plus, he's got Hermione's old wand, just like Arcturus feared what happened.' _

Filch turned around and flicked his wand into her direction, causing the professor to slump onto the ground, unmoving.

Horrified, Harry realised that he had not recognised the spell, however, he did not have time to dwell on it, as Filch sent the killing curse in Astoria's direction, and Harry hurriedly conjured a large boulder in front of Astoria and Susan, which merely received a few holes from the killing curses that followed.

'Team 5 help, Hogwarts Entrance hall,' Harry hurriedly thought to his colleagues, knowing that they would arrive within a minute.

Unfortunately, Harry was taken aback, when the caretaker sent another curse at Hermione, who was just trying to help the professor, and it was too late to conjure anything. In lack of a better idea, Harry apparated right in front of the girl, where he was squarely hit with the green light. An instant later, he knew nothing more.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for the reviews for the previous chapter. Please Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. Also, I would like to thank the members of my FB group for their help and encouragement! There is a poll on my profile page for this story. Please check it out._


	14. Horcruxes

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

**_A chapter in between as a thanks for your kind reviews - enjoy!_**

* * *

When Harry's mind returned to consciousness, he found himself in a garden sitting in the grass between two flowerbeds.

_'Where am I?'_ he wondered. _'Am I dead?'_ As he looked around, he saw something that made it clear for him that he was, in fact, dead.

"Mum? Dad?" he asked, wide-eyed.

"Harry, my dear, I'm so proud of you," his mother replied, gently pushing an errand strand of hair from his forehead.

"Mum!" Harry blurted out, staring at his mother in delight. _'She looks so young, just about as old as Marina, the head girl,'_ he thought in amazement.

"Your scar is gone now," James added. "Voldemort managed to kill the part of himself that was hidden behind your scar. You'll feel much better now."

"Am I dead?" Harry enquired, noticing that his father looked like the spitting image of himself, however, with brown eyes.

"No," Lily assured him. "At least not really."

"You only have to return," James informed him.

"And we don't want to see you back here for a very long time," his mother added in a firm voice. "Tell Sirius and Remus to take better care of you."

"Tell Sirius to just leave the DMLE post to Moody and instead convince Amelia to let him teach Alchemy at Hogwarts. It's something that you'd enjoy, Harry," James informed him. "Dumbledore taught Sirius and me, and he should be good enough to teach the subject. If I remember correctly, he even got an O in his NEWT."

"Dumbledore is not gone by the way," Lily told him. "He's teaching in a school on the continent. But that's all we can tell you for now. Good bye, my sweet child, and have a brilliant life. Oh, by the way, if you ever get the chance, please hex Petunia for me."

"How do I get back though?" Harry asked, uncertainly looking from his mother to his father.

"Just wish yourself back. You're very powerful, and the Unspeakables have taught you extremely well…"

"Tell Arcturus to keep teaching you," an older lady interrupted James. "He's my brother. I'm Dorea Black-Potter, your grandmother, and like your mother, I'm very proud of you. Now, however, you have to go back," she added in a firm voice.

'_Go back,'_ Harry thought. _'I need to go back to Hogwarts, to my friends, as tempting it is to just stay here with my parents and grandparents.'_

HP

"Harry!" Hermione shouted in devastation and knelt next to her friend, while Susan and Astoria emerged from behind the block and fired a couple of stunning spells at the caretaker, just when four people in Unspeakable robes appeared out of thin air and cast unknown spells at Filch, who fell to the floor, before they knew what happened.

Susan and Astoria looked in shock how a black cloud emerged from the caretaker's chest and made its way out through the nearest wall, while Filch remained on the ground, unmoving.

"Harry" was Susan's next thought, and when she looked at the spot, where she had seen her best friend last, Hermione was leaning over him and seemed to kiss him.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Astoria asked, sounding upset.

"I'm trying to save his life," Hermione explained, as she slowly released the boy's unmoving form and stretched to her usual height. "It's a muggle healing method, but I don't know if it worked."

A mere instant later, two of the Unspeakables were crouched over Harry.

"He's alive," one of them told the girls.

"But his scar is gone," the other added. "Thank Merlin we didn't take out the Horcrux earlier," he added, apparently just for his colleague. "It seemed to have saved his life."

"Sorry, if Harry's all right, could you please check on Professor McGonagall?" Hermione asked the Unspeakables, who obediently cast a couple of spells at the deputy headmistress, causing her to wake up at the same time as Harry.

"What happened?" Harry was the first to ask.

"Filch cast the killing curse at Hermione, and you jumped in front of it," Astoria explained, shaking visibly and on the verge of tears. "Do you remember that?" she almost shouted in clear distress.

"There was something," Harry recalled, grinning sheepishly.

"As soon as we received your message, we came here," Mento informed his colleague. "Fortunately, there was that Horcrux behind your scar…"

"A Horcrux behind my scar?" Harry interrupted his teammate in a dangerously quiet voice. "And you never thought about mentioning that to me?"

"Be glad, child, as it clearly saved your life," Ra told him. "We in turn killed Filch, who apparently was possessed by Voldemort."

Minerva let out a huge gasp. "That's why he was suddenly able to do magic," she breathed.

"Exactly," Ra confirmed, letting out a long sigh. "He was able to flee though, as we still didn't manage to get rid of all his Horcruxes. Now he should only have two left though, one of them being his snake familiar."

"My wand," Hermione suddenly blurted out, rushing over to where a wand was lying on the floor next to the dead form of the caretaker.

"Show me your wand," Raros instructed the girl, and Hermione hesitantly held out her old wand to the Unspeakable.

Raros took the wand into his left hand and mumbled a couple of cleaning spells, before he returned the wand. "Your wand is clean now, without any trails of killing curses and such," he reassured Hermione, who let out a deep sigh and thanked him profusely.

"If all of you are all right, let's return to the feast," Minerva said, crisply.

"Professor McGonagall," Ra addressed the deputy headmistress in a firm voice, "would you terribly mind us if we took Harry with us for the evening?"

Minerva cast Harry a sharp look. "Harry, are you feeling all right, and do you want to go with the Unspeakables?"

"Yes Professor," Harry replied and, along with Ra and Raros, popped away without even considering his audience.

Meta and Mento took the caretaker's body with them, before they, too, popped away.

HP

"Thank you so much for coming to my rescue," Harry spoke up, once they arrived in team room 5. "Did I understand that correctly? Voldemort possessed Filch?"

"Yes," Arcturus replied, carefully folding up his Unspeakable robes. "Apparently, he possessed him and pushed himself to the front of Filch's mind, which probably wasn't overly difficult, as the host was a Squib without magic. Now, however, he's back to being a spirit. For returning as a spirit, he should have used another Horcrux, probably either Hufflepuff's cup or Ravenclaw's diadem, both of which we haven't found yet."

"We suspect," Regulus added, "that one of them, probably the diadem, could be at Hogwarts."

"I can simply ask Hogwarts," Harry offered, shrugging. "If it's inside the castle, she'll know it."

"Please do so," Arcturus instructed him. "We must destroy the last Horcruxes as soon as possible.

HP

"How did Harry leave?" Hermione blurted out, once the Unspeakables and Harry were gone. "It's not possible to apparate out of Hogwarts."

"The Unspeakables have a way of apparition that even works at Hogwarts," Minerva reassured the upset first-year, before she ushered the students back into the Great Hall, where the leaving feast still continued.

She quickly filled Amelia in what happened, causing her friend to stare at her in disbelief.

HP

When Harry returned to Hogwarts, he flooed into the founders' quarters, surprised to see Susan and Astoria waiting for him.

"We thought that you might return here," Susan informed him, smiling.

"Today, I got to speak with my parents," Harry spoke up, once he was sitting on the sofa together with everyone else.

"With Lily and James?" Sirius asked, incredulously.

"Yes," Harry supplied, matter-of-factly. "Apparently, I was almost dead for a moment. I even met my grandmother, Dorea Black-Potter."

Ignoring the collective gasp, he continued, "Sirius, Dad said to tell you to leave your position at the ministry to Moody and instead ask Amelia to make you the professor for Alchemy here at Hogwarts."

Amelia cast Sirius a questioning look. "Was there anything you wanted to tell me?" she enquired, smirking.

"Oh well, no, but, err, I'd love that," Sirius replied, grinning.

"I take it that you have a qualification to teach Alchemy?" Amelia continued and, seeing Sirius nod, promised, "I'll see what we can do about it."

"I took my NEWTs in Alchemy together with James," Sirius explained.

HP

The students, whose parents were working at Hogwarts, Susan, Daphne, Astoria and Luna along with Harry remained at the school over the Christmas holidays. In contrary to the summer, where Harry and Susan had lived in the founders' quarters with their families and the others in their mothers' quarters, the children decided to remain in their Hufflepuff dormitories in order to stay together.

"Mum has promised to take all of us to Hogsmeade tomorrow to do our Christmas shopping," Daphne informed the others on the first day of the holidays.

"Oh, that's good," Susan agreed, and Harry sighed inwardly.

During the last one and a half years, he had learned about birthday presents and Christmas presents, and he knew that he did not only have to buy gifts for his fifteen friends but also for Sirius, Remus, Amelia, Minerva, his four teammates and Devil.

"The question is what to buy," he thought aloud, causing the others to chuckle.

"That's always difficult," Luna said, smiling. "You could draw a nice picture for everyone."

"We'll see," he said, thoughtfully. "My first problem is that I can't go to Hogsmeade with you, because I have to work tomorrow. Perhaps I'll try to take a small trip to Diagon Alley after work."

Later, when Harry was in his dormitory, where he was alone, as all other first-year boys had returned to their families over Christmas, he took a parchment and a quill and made a list, pondering what to buy for whom.

HP

After work the following afternoon, Harry headed to Diagon Alley. To his chagrin, Sirius and Remus had insisted that he had to meet with them at the Leaky Cauldron, stating that it was too dangerous for him to go just by himself with Voldemort around, even if only as a spirit.

Fortunately, the Marauders did not have to buy presents, but were ready to merely follow Harry around. They went to Flourish & Blotts first to buy some books for a few friends, followed by the sweets shop, where he bought gifts for the other Unspeakables, and finally, they headed towards the Magical Menagerie.

"Hermione said once that she'd like a kitten, so I'm thinking of buying her one," he told the older wizards. "I'm also thinking of buying an owl or some other bird for Luna. You know, she has to write to her Dad, because he isn't living at Hogwarts with his family," he added as an afterthought.

"Do you already have a present for Susan?" Remus asked, gently.

"Well, yes, a book, but I can give that to her at another time if you have a better idea," Harry replied, giving the Marauder a questioning look.

"Oh, it's just that I know for a fact that she'd love a kitten, too. I don't know if Amelia would like the idea very much though," Remus replied, grinning.

"She'll get her kitten," Harry agreed and entered the pet shop with enthusiasm.

HP

Harry found a couple of very cute kittens. They were white with some orange stripes, and while some had much white fur and only very little orange, others were mostly orange with just a white face.

It took him quite some time to choose the two cutest, and unable to decide, he finally ended up with three kittens, resolving to give Luna a kitten as well instead of the intended owl. _'She can always use Fawkes,'_ he thought, matter-of-factly, knowing that his good-natured phoenix did not mind running small errands.

He was just about to go and pay for the cats, when something caught his eye. Two beautiful multi-coloured snakes were slithering around the room followed by a girl, who instructed the snakes to return to their own space.

Harry could not help staring. _'She speaks Parseltongue,'_ he thought in surprise. Never had he met anyone capable of talking to snakes – apart from Salazar in his painting.

"Hello," he curiously addressed the girl, glad when Sirius and Remus took the three kittens with them to check them out.

"Hi there," the girl replied, smiling at him with the most beautiful smile that Harry had ever seen. She had long blond hair and blue eyes and looked about his own age. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh no, thanks," Harry stammered. "I was just surprised realising that you were speaking Parseltongue. I haven't met any other Parselmouth before."

"Are you a Parselmouth as well?" the girl enquired, wide-eyed.

"Yesss," Harry hissed, glancing at the snakes. "They're beautiful snakesss," he added, admiringly.

"Do you want one?" the girl enquired with apparent eagerness. "They want to become my familiars because I can talk to them, but I can't take them, because apart from the school holidays, I live in Brazil, where my father works, and we aren't allowed pets at our school."

"I already have a phoenix and the basilisk familiar of the founder of Hogwarts as familiars," Harry said, sighing.

"Are you attending Hogwarts?" the girl asked in obvious excitement. "I so want to attend Hogwarts. I really don't like the school in Brazil."

"Why don't you come to Hogwarts then?" Harry enquired. "Are your parents against it? Oh, I'm Harry by the way," he suddenly remembered to introduce himself.

"I'm Julia," the girl replied, smiling, and explained, "No, Mum and Dad made some agreement concerning school, but when I returned here for Christmas and told Mum that I really don't like the school in Brazil, she said she'd ask if I could get into Hogwarts." She remained pensive for a moment before asking, "Would I be able to keep one of them if I went to Hogwarts?"

"I think so," Harry replied, lamely, not certain if snakes were allowed as familiars.

"Do you think they'll accept me to Hogwarts in the middle of the school year though?" Julia continued to question him.

"I think so," Harry replied, knowing that Amelia would accept it if it was his wish to have the girl attend. "How old are you?" he suddenly remembered to ask.

"I'm going to be twelve in May," Julia replied, eagerly.

"Oh, then you're going to be a first-year just like my friends and me. In that case, we can always help you to catch up with our studies if you're behind," Harry promised, smiling.

"Thanks a lot," Julia replied, grinning broadly. "Now then Harry, what do you say, shall we both take one of them? They're Aesculapian Serpents, very valuable snakes, but don't say that aloud, because the shop owner probably doesn't know about it. Otherwise, they'd cost a fortune."

Completely smitten by the girl's brilliant smile, Harry agreed and listened how Julia spoke with the snakes. Soon, one of the snakes slithered over to him and slid up his arm to curl up around his neck, while the other snake did the same with Julia.

Together, they headed towards where Sirius and Remus were waiting with the kittens. Harry quickly told the Marauders everything about Julia and the snakes, before the older wizards finally asked, "Julia, who are your parents? What's your family name?"

"Julia Skeeter," Julia replied, smiling. "My father lives in Brazil though. During the holidays, I'm living with my Mum, but I really want to remain here and attend Hogwarts together with Harry."

"Very well, Julia," Sirius finally said. "Your mother is Rita Skeeter then?" he asked, and Harry knew from his expression that he was trying to supress a shudder. When Julia confirmed, he continued, "Please talk to your mother and, if she agrees, tell her to send Harry or me an owl and make an appointment with our headmistress to enrol you at Hogwarts. In the meantime, we'll speak with Professor Bones, but I don't think that there will be a problem."

"All right, I'll do that," Julia promised, and the children paid for the snakes, glad that the shop owner seemed to be unaware of their value.

HP

Back at Hogwarts, Harry immediately sent Fawkes to ask Pandora Lovegood to come to the founders' quarters as soon as possible, as he had something to show her.

"An Aesculapian Serpent?" the potions mistress blurted out in apparent delight. "That's incredible and a dream come true for any potions maker, especially if it comes with a translator able to speak with the snake. The Aesculapian Serpent has a special venom, which is invaluable in potions, almost like phoenix tears," Pandora explained, happily.

"Just tell me if you need anything. Any time," Harry offered, smiling.

"Harry, thank you so very much," Pandora replied. "Knowing that we don't only have a phoenix at Hogwarts, who has already given tears a couple of times this year, but also an Aesculapian Serpent is the best Christmas present that I could imagine."

_'I hope the three girls like their kittens as much as Pandora my snake,'_ Harry thought in amusement, as he readied himself to wrap his presents, when a sudden thought crossed his mind, and he inwardly groaned at his own stupidity.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter and thanks for your participation in the poll on my author's page and on FB. I appreciate it very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome. _


	15. Julia Skeeter

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

With the Aesculapian Serpent curled around her neck, Julia walked back towards the building of The Daily Prophet, where her mother was working.

"Mum," she addressed Rita Skeeter in excitement, "I've decided that I want to go to Hogwarts from January onwards, and look, I've bought myself a familiar."

"A snake?" her mother screeched in apparent shock. "I don't know if you'll be allowed to bring such a thing to Hogwarts."

"Harry said I could."

"Harry?" Rita enquired, giving her daughter a questioning look. "Who's Harry?"

Julia remained pensive for a moment, before she admitted, "I don't know his surname, but he's a Parselmouth just like myself, and he's a first-year at Hogwarts. Can you please talk to Professor Bones and ask her? I really want to transfer to Hogwarts right away."

Her mother let out a deep sigh, before she relented. "I'll do that, but you must be aware that many people dislike me, because I sometimes have to write things, which they don't like. That was the main reason why your father and I decided to enrol you to the school in Brazil, that and the fact that you're a Parselmouth, which is not common in Britain."

"But Harry is one, too, and he bought the other snake," Julia replied in excitement. "There were two of them, and they're both Aesculapian Serpents. The owner didn't know it, so we got them really cheap."

"Julia," Rita interrupted her daughter's monologue. "Let's return home, and then I'm going to floo call Professor Bones right away."

HP

_'Oh Merlin, I completely forgot to ask Hogwarts about Rowena's diadem,'_ Harry realised in shock and, as soon as he finished wrapping his presents, went to the Parlour to speak with Hogwarts.

The castle remained quiet for a few minutes, before she said, sounding thoughtful, "Maybe you should have a look at the Room of Requirement and wish for a place where things are hidden. It should be somehow in the room that I can make for you there."

"All right, Hogwarts, thank you so much," Harry replied, gratefully. "I think I'll wait for my friends to come back, and then we'll go and explore the room together."

HP

On Christmas morning, Harry popped himself in front of the Grangers' residence carrying a small basket that was occupied with an orange kitten along with everything that the small animal would need during the next couple of days. Placing the basket in front of the entrance door, he slid a small letter inside, before he rang the doorbell and apparated away.

_'I hope her parents won't be angry. Maybe they don't like cats,_' he thought, once he was back at the castle.

However, he did not have time to dwell on the question, as Sirius ushered him to get ready for breakfast in the Great Hall.

Harry received many presents – from his friends, his family and several of the teachers at Hogwarts. However, there was one gift that he could not relate to anyone. It was an invisibility cloak. Harry tried it on in anticipation that only intensified upon hearing Sirius' and Remus' shouts of excitement.

"Harry, that was your Dad's," Sirius informed him, grinning broadly.

"I wonder where that came from at this time," Remus cautioned his friend.

"Harry, show it to me," Amelia demanded and swiftly pointed her wand at the artefact, casting a series of spells.

"It was equipped with multiple tracking charms and a few other charms, of which I don't know what they were," she informed Harry. "It's clean now. You can have it back, but please don't use it to do anything dangerous," she added, as she handed the cloak back.

"Ah, Meli, it's just the thing to do some mischief," Sirius replied, pleasantly, before he dove into a long monologue about the trouble that the Marauders had caused using the cloak. Only from time to time, Remus interrupted him to add some most necessary amendments.

_'My father's,'_ Harry thought in amazement, _'and something that he used, when he was at Hogwarts just like myself. This is totally cool.'_

HP

Harry was happy to hear that Amelia allowed Julia to transfer to Hogwarts from January onwards. As Harry was at work, when the girl visited the headmistress together with her mother, Julia sent him an owl asking if they could meet at Diagon Alley before school was going to commence in January, stating that she had many questions.

Harry immediately agreed and sent Fawkes with his reply, promising to be in front of Flourish and Blotts at three o'clock in the afternoon of New Year's Eve.

"Just bring her here," Susan instructed him.

"I could do that," Harry replied, pensively, "but don't you think the others will mind?"

He and Susan had invited their fifteen friends together with their parents to spend New Year's Eve at Hogwarts, and they had already helped the house-elves to prepare the Great Hall accordingly.

"No one is going to mind," Susan assured him. "Just pop her here, and we can talk to her for a bit, before everyone else is going to arrive."

"Do not invite her mother though," Sirius spoke up, who had followed the conversation in his Animagus form and only now deemed the conversation important enough to change back and give his input. "She's an absolute bitch."

HP

If Harry had been hesitant to bring Julia to Hogwarts over New Year's Eve, he realised soon that he could absolutely rely on his friends. Everyone was very kind to Julia and made her feel welcome – just like they had done with Hermione after Halloween.

Fortunately, no other students were staying at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays, so that the sixteen students and their guest together with their families and the professors had the Great Hall for themselves.

To Harry's relief, the parents, who had all known each other forever due to the Alliance, behaved in the same way towards the Grangers, who were not only unknown to everyone but above all were muggles who were still new to the magical world.

Harry had gone to fetch the Grangers by means of a Portkey that his colleagues had kindly made for him and had cast a spell at the parents that allowed them to view Hogwarts as if they were magical.

It was almost midnight, when the doors to the Great Hall opened with a loud bang that immediately brought everyone's attentions to the spot, where the Weasley twins were standing.

"Everyone…"

"… Please come out onto the grounds…"

"… as our fireworks are going to commence…"

"… at midnight," the twins shouted, making everyone to jump from their seats and rush to the entrance hall, where they had left their warm winter robes.

"Lisa," Harry quickly called the house-elf. "Could you please bring our warm cloaks for Susan, Amelia, Minerva, Sirius, Remus and me?"

An instant later, everyone was wrapped up and heading outside, where the Hogwarts elves pressed glasses of a mixture of Champaign and pumpkin juice into everyone's hand.

As soon as everyone had toasted the new year, the twins began showing them an absolutely brilliant firework display.

"Did you make these by yourselves?" Harry enquired in disbelief, as he cornered the twins right afterwards.

"Of course…"

"… That was our belated Christmas present…"

"… for you," the twins informed him.

"That was fantastic," Julia spoke up from beside Harry. "Thank you so much for sharing this with us."

"It's a pity that Julia's Mum wasn't here," Astoria commented. "It surely would have made the front page of the Daily Prophet tomorrow."

"Luna's Dad was here," Daphne added, grinning.

"Yes," Luna replied, smiling happily, "Dad will have it in the Quibbler if you don't mind, Fred and George."

"Of course not…"

"… It'll be an honour," the twins replied, mock bowing before the first-year.

"Did Luna's Dad take photographs though?" Hermione enquired.

Luna shook her head. "That's not necessary," she explained, smiling happily, "as he'll be able to print them from his memories."

HP

To everyone's surprise, however, three large pictures of the fireworks in the forms of unicorns, phoenixes and turtles decorated the front page of the Daily Prophet.

"How did your mother do this?" Padma Patil asked Julia, who merely returned a helpless shrug.

"Leave Julia in peace," Harry spoke up in a firm voice, casting Amelia a questioning look. "She has nothing to do with it.

"She hasn't. She was together with us the whole night," Hermione confirmed, reassuringly laying her hand on the girl's right arm.

"I am going to find out how Mrs. Skeeter was able to spy at Hogwarts," Amelia said in a firm voice, her mouth stretched to a thin line.

"I'm sorry, I really don't know…" Julia whispered, tears threatening to leave her eyes.

"Julia, it's all right," Sirius replied, soothingly. "I'm sorry to say that, but your mother is a bitch. It has nothing to do with you though, so never mind her. Who's up to some Quidditch?"

While Remus and Miranda led the excited children out onto the grounds for a Quidditch match and a snowman building contest, Amelia and Sirius remained with Minerva and the Greengrasses to discuss the Daily Prophet.

"Sirius, shall we go to Gringotts and enquire about buying some shares of the newspaper?" Cygnus finally suggested, and the Marauder agreed, eagerly.

"Yeah, let's speak with Buckbean," he replied, and the two wizards decided to travel to the bank together first thing in the morning.

HP

"Buckbean," Sirius greeted the goblin, "will your gold always flow and your enemies cower before you. This is Cygnus Greengrass, I don't know if you have met yet."

After the introductions were made, Sirius came straight to the point. "We'd like to buy some shares of the Daily Prophet. Could you please check if it's possible and who owns them now?"

To their surprise, Buckbean chuckled. "Fifty percent are owned by House Potter, other thirty percent by the Lestranges, which doesn't really matter, as they're all in Azkaban and their possessions don't belong to anyone if they're not claimed, and the remaining twenty percent are owned by the Malfoys."

"So that means that we'd be able to buy thirty percent, is that correct?" Cygnus enquired.

"Yes," Buckbean replied, showing his yellow teeth as he grinned.

"Please take the money from the Black vaults and add the thirty percent to the Potters' share," Sirius decided. "That way, Harry owns eighty percent of the paper, which is an influential enough percentage."

After a couple of signatures from Sirius, the deal was concluded, and the two wizards returned to Diagon Alley.

"Shall we go and have a word with Barnabas Cuffe?" Cygnus suggested, causing Sirius to nod eagerly.

"Yes, although we should probably take Amelia with us, considering that she's the headmistress," Sirius replied, pensively. Seeing that the other wizard agreed, Sirius sent a Patronus to Amelia asking her to join them in Diagon Alley to pay the Daily Prophet a visit.

"I really hope that one visit will suffice," Amelia said, groaning, as she stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky cauldron, where Sirius and Cygnus were waiting for her.

Together, they entered the office of the Daily Prophet, and Sirius addressed the young witch who welcomed them.

"We'd like to speak with Barnabas Cuffe."

"Do you have an appointment?" the witch enquired, giving them a sharp look.

"I don't think we need one," Sirius replied. "Otherwise, we'll have to think about taking a closer look at the employee situation here, considering that we own eighty percent of the Daily Prophet."

"Perhaps you could just ask Mr. Cuffe if he has a few minutes for us?" Amelia suggested, agreeably.

The girl nodded. "And you are?" she asked, nevertheless.

"Amelia Bones, headmistress of Hogwarts," Amelia replied, matter-of-factly, causing the young witch's eyes to widen.

She quickly made her way to her boss' door and opened it just a little bit. After half a minute, she widely opened the door and ushered them inside.

"Mr. Cuffe," Amelia was the first to greet the editor. "I trust that you know Lord Sirius Black and Lord Cygnus Greengrass."

"Of course, of course," Cuffe replied. "Please take a seat. To what do I owe this surprise visit?" he then enquired in a business-like manner.

Amelia pulled the previous day's edition of the Daily Prophet out of her robe pocket.

"These photos," she began to explain in a no-nonsense voice, "were taken at Hogwarts – without any kind of permission for Rita Skeeter to enter the Hogwarts grounds let alone take pictures."

Cuffe looked at the article that, from the descriptions within the text, proved that the writer had to have actually watched the event.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I don't know how Ms. Skeeter was able to enter the grounds. Perhaps someone invited her without informing you?"

"Definitely not," Amelia groused. "Since the gates were closed, the only way for someone to come onto the grounds would be to floo into my office…"

"… or to enter Hogwarts in the form of an Animagus able to fly," Sirius added, interrupting his fiancée.

"Do you know if Ms. Skeeter is an Animagus?" Amelia enquired in a no-nonsense voice.

"Ah, as that would be a private matter, I do not know such a thing," Cuffe replied, evasively.

"Well, then please inform Ms. Skeeter that she is not allowed to write anything about Hogwarts," Amelia said in a strict voice. "If there is anything that the public needs to know, either you will come to report about the matter or we will give the exclusive rights to the Quibbler."

"And we will go further," Sirius added. "As my godson, Harry Potter, who is also the owner of Hogwarts, owns eighty percent of the shares of the Daily Prophet, we can easily have a few heads rolling."

"Very well, Headmistress, Lord Black," Cuffe replied, nodding in understanding. "I shall inform Ms. Skeeter accordingly."

"Can't we ask her how she got onto the grounds or how she managed to receive the information under Veritaserum?" Sirius enquired once they were back on the street.

Amelia shook her head. "No, we could ask Alastor Moody, but even he, as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, could only use Veritaserum on her if it came to a trial before the Wizengamot or if she had at least used an Unforgivable," she said, letting out a deep sigh.

HP

_'What? Now my daughter is attending Hogwarts, but I'm not allowed to visit her let alone report about the school?'_ Rita thought, incredulously.

"Well well, Rita, at least they know nothing about your Animagus form," Barnabas said, sighing. "If there's anything remarkable, we'll just have to publish the report under my name. Just see to it that you don't get caught."

"I will, thanks Boss," Rita replied, feeling extremely grateful towards the understanding editor.

HP

Finally, the third of January arrived, and Harry was looking forward to having all of his friends back at Hogwarts later the same day. He was just enjoying breakfast in the Great Hall, before he was going to spend the day at the Unspeakables' office.

All of a sudden, a large barn owl swept into the Great Hall and landed on the table right in front of Harry.

"A red letter?" he uttered in confusion, never having seen a red letter before.

"Who would send you a Howler?" Sirius asked in apparent bewilderment.

"That's a Howler," Amelia explained, patiently. "You'll just hear what it is, just open it quickly, as it'll only get worse otherwise."

Harry quickly unfolded the red parchment that immediately began to scream in a female voice that he did not recognise.

_"Harry Potter, how dare you exclude my children from the Great Alliance? Only now that Ron came home over Christmas did I hear that everyone else has been sorted into Hufflepuff together. Only Ron is alone in Gryffindor. How dare you do that to us, although House Weasley has always been in an Alliance to House Potter. Why would you allow the twins to spend New Years' Eve at Hogwarts and not Ron in spite of the matter that you're in the same year and supposed to be friends? And on top of that you cancelled the betrothal contract with my Ginny. You better see to it that you make it up to them or else…"_

With that the shouting stopped abruptly, and the letter vanished into thin air.

"What was that?" Harry asked, flabbergasted. "Yes a Howler, I heard that, but…" he slowly trailed off, looking from Sirius to Amelia in disbelief.

"Harry, you better write a letter to Mr. Weasley and ask him to get a grip on his wife," Luna spoke up, smiling dreamily. "Her brain is full with wrackspurts just like Ron's."

"That's a good idea," Sirius agreed, and Harry grudgingly decided to follow his advice before heading to work.

"Susan, Luna, can you help me?" he asked the girls, who nodded, reassuringly.

With their assistance, he quickly penned a letter to the twins' father.

_'Dear Mr. Weasley,_

_Your wife has just sent me a Howler, accusing me to be responsible for Ronald's Sorting into Gryffindor, while the children of the Great Alliance are in Hufflepuff. Unfortunately, this was a decision of the Sorting Cap and not one made by myself. She also accused me of not inviting Ronald over New Year's Eve but having the twins come to Hogwarts. In contrary to the twins, Ronald is not my friend, and his behaviour towards my friends is atrocious. Lastly, she complained that I cancelled a betrothal contract, which she set up together with Albus Dumbledore. Why would I even accept such a contract? Please get a grip on your wife, especially if she writes Howlers in the name of House Weasley.  
Thank you very much and best regards  
Harry Potter'_

"That's good," Susan said, nodding contentedly, and Harry quickly asked Fawkes to deliver his letter to Arthur Weasley.

HP

_'I hope Sopho will sort Julia into Hufflepuff as well,'_ Harry thought, while he practised the Animagus transformation under Ra's sharp eyes. _'Or Ravenclaw, then Hermione wouldn't be alone, and we'd still have classes together.'_

"Harry, you must concentrate on the task ahead," Arcturus scolded him, causing Harry to get startled. Before he knew what happened, his left arm displayed pink fur instead of the brown griffin wing that he attempted to spike.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate it very much. _


	16. Lucius Malfoy

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

"It's now one and a half years since you came to Kilian's School for Magic. How do you like it here?" Anton Hehl enquired, looking at Albus in clear expectation.

Albus smiled. "I am very much enjoying myself," he admitted. "Everything is so very different from my old home school that it's a refreshing change."

"I'm very glad to hear that," Anton replied, seemingly contented. "So, you're still ready and willing to take over for me, when I'm going to retire in three and a half years' time?"

"Yes," Albus confirmed, before he presented his newest plan. "Anton, I have an idea. You probably know about the event called the Triwizard Tournament."

"I've read about these," Anton recalled. "Our school is said to have partaken in a couple of them. As far as I know, they've been abandoned because of being too dangerous."

"Yes, that's right," Albus admitted. "How about celebrating your last year at this school by holding the Triwizard Tournament here? You could invite Hogwarts and, for example, Bauxbatons to participate."

"Albus," Anton blurted out in apparent excitement, "that's a fantastic idea. Might I enlist your assistance with the planning and everything?"

"Of course," Albus assured the headmaster, inwardly grinning.

HP

Julia was very excited. During the train ride, she had spent a couple of highly agreeable hours together with Harry's friends. Even if Harry was not on the train, as he was living at Hogwarts anyway, his friend Astoria had seen her and pulled her into the enlarged compartment that held all of their friends.

Now, however, she was standing all by herself in the middle of the Great Hall waiting to be sorted by the Sorting Cap, and she had the impression as if everyone in the room was watching her.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ she thought, when Professor McGonagall finally called her to sit on the stool, where the Cap was going to examine her brain.

'Please sort me together with Harry and his friends,' she thought to the Cap like her new friends had instructed her.

'Ah, another one of them,' the Cap thought back, 'but I can't make it too easy for you. Tell my owner that you're going to be the last one I even consider. If he sends me anyone else, I'm going to put them into Slytherin or Gryffindor.'

Before Julia was able to figure out what he meant, he shouted into the Hall for everyone to hear, "Ravenclaw."

_'What?'_ she thought, horrified, as she turned towards the Ravenclaw table, from where a cheering Hermione called her name. _'Oh all right, at least we're together,'_ she thought in relief upon having at least one friend in her house.

HP

On Saturday morning at breakfast, Harry received an owl from Mr. Weasley.

_'Dear Mr. Potter,  
as the head of House Weasley I formally apologize for my wife's behaviour. She is not entitled to speak on behalf of House Weasley, and I hope that you won't let her words change your opinion of my sons and myself as well as the friendship between our houses.  
As my sons have assured me what a kind and sensitive young man you are, I'll admit this to you. For the first time in my life, I have sent a Howler myself, in which I threatened my wife to remove her from House Weasley if she ever contacts you again. I hope she will take this threat seriously.  
Kind regards  
Arthur Weasley'_

Harry handed the letter to his friends, and everyone agreed that Mr. Weasley's reaction to Harry's letter exceeded their expectations.

"Thank Merlin he's not a puppet of his wife," Astoria said after reading the letter.

"Well, the twins already told us that he wasn't, when he separated from his wife and took on a new job in the muggle world," Harry replied, grinning.

HP

Right after breakfast, Harry led his sixteen friends to the Room of Requirement, where he wished for the room of hidden things like Hogwarts had instructed him.

Astoria was the first to enter the room, and everyone else followed swiftly, only to let out a chorus of gasps taking in the variety of items that had assembled during a millennium.

"Let's use the corners to gather similar items," Hermione spoke up. "For example, we could gather all books here in this corner and try to make a huge bookshelf on the wall over here."

"Yeah, and we could gather things in the corner over there, which we could take to the goblins to sell for us and give the money to the school," Daphne added.

"You're just brilliant," Harry spoke up, casting his friends an appreciative look. "Well, Astoria," he addressed the girl, "could you take this box…" he pushed an empty box in front of her, "… and put all the wands in it please."

"Shall I collect the furniture and put it over there?" Neville offered, causing Harry to nod and smile at his friend.

"Good idea, and everything that doesn't fit into any of these categories goes into the corner over there," he decided. "Seamus, could you see to it please?"

The boy nodded, and Harry continued, "Everyone else please just join one of the groups and help. I'll assist here and there and am going to search for the diadem."

The groups eagerly set to work, however, by the time Lisa showed up to inform them that it was lunchtime, they were still only half through the mountains of items.

"Lisa, could you perhaps bring us something to eat here?" Hermione enquired, looking up from an old tome. "That way, we won't lose so much time."

Everyone agreed and held a spontaneous picnic on a free area on the floor, which was not covered by antiquities, before they continued working on the room.

It took the friends until the early evening, before all items were sorted and Harry had found the diadem and had swiftly taken it to the Unspeakables' place for his colleagues to destroy the Horcrux within it.

HP

It was on a Saturday afternoon shortly after Easter that Hogwarts suddenly addressed Harry in front of his friends.

"Harry, please go to the headmistress' office right away. I believe that you're needed there," the castle told him.

"What was that?" Astoria was the first to enquire, looking around wide-eyed.

"That was Hogwarts," Harry replied, as he had recognised the old castle's gentle voice. "I better go and see what's up." With that, he hurried through the connecting door right into Amelia's office, seeing that Amelia was in an apparently heated discussion with no other than Lucius Malfoy.

A small, frightened-looking house-elf wearing a dirty tea towel was standing behind the blonde man.

"Potter," the man interrupted himself, glaring at him.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy," Harry replied in a firm voice, before he turned to Amelia. "Headmistress, Hogwarts told me that my attention was needed here."

"Yes," Amelia confirmed, casting Harry a grateful look.

"Harry Potter," the elf whispered, staring at him wide-eyed in what seemed to be clear admiration.

"Quiet," Malfoy hissed at the elf, giving him a sharp kick with his left foot, causing the elf to stumble and land on the floor.

Harry's eyes widened in shock. _'How can someone treat their elf that way?'_ he thought, horrified, casting the elf a small smile, only to notice that his both hands were amateurishly bandaged.

"As I was saying," Malfoy turned back to what seemed to have been his conversation with Amelia, "the Board of Governors have decided to dismiss you as headmistress."

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry spoke up, before Amelia could utter a reply, "first of all, the Board of Governors does not even exist anymore."

Malfoy spluttered with anger. "Who do you think you are?" he roared. "A half-blood child, who has grown up with muggles can disband the Board of Governors?" he scoffed.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, his eyes blazing with anger. "As the owner of Hogwarts, I have dismissed the board; therefore, your request of sacking the headmistress is void. However," he continued over Malfoy's continued sputtering, "I'd be willing to hear you out why you believe that Professor Bones is not adequate as headmistress."

"She forbade a parent to visit her daughter here at Hogwarts," Malfoy replied in apparent anger. "Ms. Skeeter came to me to complain."

Harry scoffed and, when a sudden idea shot through his mind, he picked up the officially looking parchment that Lucius Malfoy had placed on the desk in front of Amelia. In the meantime, Amelia explained the circumstances, why Rita Skeeter was persona non grata at Hogwarts.

A small smile played on his lips, as he carefully folded the parchment as flat as possible, glad that Malfoy was listening to Amelia with apparent eagerness.

"Here, Mr. Malfoy, I believe that this belongs to you," he uttered, as he handed the parchment back to its original owner, inwardly grinning, when the haughty wizard tossed it as its house-elf without even looking at the item.

'Open it,' Harry thought to the small elf, whose eyes widened, as realisation set it.

"Master gave Dobby clothes. Dobby is free!" the elf shouted in clear happiness, causing the blond wizard to stare at the sock in Dobby's hand in apparent disbelief.

"You!" Malfoy shouted turning to Harry. "How dare you make me free my house-elf, you…" Interrupting himself, he pointed his wand at Harry and – apparently forgetting that they had a witness – cast, "Avada…".

However, before he could finish casting the spell, Dobby pointed his finger at his former master, who slumped in his seat, his wand rolling over the floor.

"Dobby wills takes him back to Malfoy Manor," the elf announced. "Dobby is very happy to bees free, and Dobby wills always be here for the great Harry Potter. Thank you so much for freeing Dobby."

Harry observed the elf's antics in amusement, before he enquired, "Dobby, what are you going to do now? Would you like to work for me?"

"Yes!" Dobby shouted in apparent eagerness, jumping up and down on his little feet. "Dobby wills comes back to the great Harry Potter after taking evil former master home."

"Dobby;" Amelia addressed the elf, who turned to her, wide-eyed. "You must not take Mr. Malfoy anywhere. He just tried to cast the killing curse at Harry, didn't he?"

"Yes Mistress Headmistress Bones," Dobby confirmed.

"Please remain as a witness Dobby, Harry you too," Amelia instructed them and leaned into the fireplace to call Alastor Moody.

Harry smiled, when the old wizard stepped out of the fireplace. Arcturus had once introduced him to Moody, and they had interacted with him a couple of times. As strange as the old wizard was, Harry knew that he was extremely competent and in spite of his gruffy behaviour quite amenable.

"Malfoy just tried to cast the killing curse at Harry Potter and was only interrupted by his former elf," Amelia informed her successor as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.

Glaring at the still unconscious wizard, Moody sighed. "I hate the bastard," he mumbled. "Bring me some Veritaserum, let's question him and put him straight into Azkaban, where he should have gone a decade ago," he uttered.

Amelia nodded in understanding and once more leaned into the fireplace to call her most trusted Potions Mistress, instructing her, "Pandora, would you please come to my office and bring a dose of Veritaserum."

Harry took a seat on the sofa at the wall next to the connection door to the founders' quarters, motioning for Dobby to sit next to him.

Dobby shook his head, whispering, "Dobby is only an elf, and elfsies are not to sit on sofas."

"You're a brilliant elf and my friend," Harry whispered back. "Please sit here next to me."

By the time Pandora Lovegood entered the office carrying a small phial of Veritaserum, Dobby was quietly sitting next to Harry, grinning broadly, and observing the scene, wide-eyed.

"Let's administer the Veritaserum, before we wake him up," Moody said, gruffly, and assisted Pandora dropping three drops of the colourless liquid onto the blonde wizard's tongue.

When Malfoy regained awareness, he immediately turned to Harry, while his right hand was searching for his wand to no avail.

Playing with Malfoy's wand in apparent amusement, Moody quickly interrupted Malfoy, before he could utter as much as a word to Harry.

"What curse did you just try to cast at Harry Potter?" he enquired.

"The killing curse," Malfoy replied, automatically, his eyes widening in shock at his own response.

"Did you want to kill him?" Moody asked, glaring at the wizard.

"Yes," Malfoy confirmed.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"Did anyone make you become one by putting you under the Imperius curse?"

"No."

"Is that at all possible?"

"No."

"Do you have to become a Death Eater by your own free will?" Moody enquired in apparent excitement.

"Yes," Malfoy confirmed.

"Well," Moody said, seeming extremely contented. "It was long overdue for you to admit that. Let me tell you something. I've got a present for you – a one-way ticket to Azkaban."

With that, he held Malfoy close and activated a Portkey.

Harry and Amelia let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Did he really take him to Azkaban?" Harry asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes," Amelia replied, smiling. "He's right, that was really long overdue. I always hated how he got away by making people believe the story about the Imperius curse, and I'm really glad Moody pulled through with this.

"Thank Merlin. He really was not a nice wizard, seeing how he treated Dobby," Harry replied, sighing.

"Thanks for coming to my help, Harry," Amelia replied, smiling.

"You're very welcome," Harry replied, grinning. "It was Hogwarts herself who sent me."

Turning to Dobby, Harry and the elf negotiated their conditions, and Dobby became Harry's elf, even if he was not bonded to him but worked for him as a free elf, earning one Galleon a month for his service.

Back in the founders' quarters, Harry introduced the very happy elf to his friends and presented him with a dark green jump suit that was decorated with the Hogwarts crest on the chest.

"Harry, are you sure that you want to give him clothes?" Astoria asked, seemingly horrified.

Harry grinned. "He's not bonded to me but is working for me as a free elf," he informed his friends, causing everyone to nod in understanding.

HP

Unbeknownst to Lucius Malfoy, Rita had never really left after their conversation at the ministry of magic. As soon as she was around the next corner, she had transformed into her bug form and made herself comfortable on the blonde wizard's robes, hiding in a robe pocket during the travel through the fireplace.

Observing the scenes at Hogwarts, she felt absolutely delighted. Not only managed Harry Potter to free Malfoy's elf, the Malfoy patriarch, the most arrogant bastard that she could imagine, cast the killing curse at Harry Potter, and only the freed elf's quick reaction saved the child. She thoroughly enjoyed Malfoy Senior being questioned under Veritaserum, and inwardly frolicked, when his fate was decided.

However, unfortunately, she was not fast enough and only realised just how quickly Moody had activated his Portkey, when it was too late. When the world stopped turning around, she realised that they had just arrived at Azkaban.

The idea of spending one day at the prison to spy on the prisoners crossed her mind, however, unsure when she would have an opportunity to escape, she dismissed the thought and hurriedly made her way over to Moody to be taken back to London as soon as possible.

_'Too bad that I can't print this myself but have to go through Cuffe,'_ she thought in annoyance, '_as most of it took place at Hogwarts. The question is if he'll agree to post such a thing, considering that he wasn't even present for the conversation. Perhaps we can make them think that one of the Hogwarts elves is spying for us?'_

"We can't do such a thing," Cuffe informed her, when she admitted her idea to him. "This is extremely dangerous considering that Harry Potter possesses eighty percent of our shares. He could easily fire all of us or even close the Daily Prophet. Why don't you just write about Lucius Malfoy having been carted off to Azkaban? Leave Harry Potter out of this."

Rita grudgingly agreed and immediately set to work.

HP

In the morning, the Daily Prophet's main headline screamed

_'Lord Malfoy in Azkaban'_

_'Apparently, Lucius Malfoy cast a killing curse at an unknown member of our society. In the subsequent questioning under Veritaserum, it became evident that he has not been under the Imperius Curse, when he decided to become a Death Eater by his own free will. This contradicts all former questionings and caused the patriarch of the Malfoy family to receive a one-way ticket into Azkaban to remain for the rest of his life.  
As soon as we receive further information of the circumstances of his arrest by none other than the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Alastor Moody, we will keep you updated, my faithful readers.  
See further information about the Malfoy family on page 7.  
Always up to date for you  
Rita Skeeter'_

HP

It was a few weeks after freeing Dobby that Remus kept Harry back after the first-years' Defence Against the Dark Arts class.

After Harry had assured his friends that they could go ahead to the Great Hall for lunch, Remus enquired, "Harry, are you sure that you don't want to take your Defence OWLs already? Due to your training with the Unspeakables, you're certainly good enough to do so."

"That might be," Harry replied, looking into his unofficial godfather's face that was full of love and concern for him. "The question is if I want people to know such a thing," he replied, letting out a deep sigh."

"Oh," Remus said in understanding. "That's indeed a valid question. Maybe you should discuss the matter not only with Amelia and Sirius but also with your Unspeakable colleagues."

"I'll do that," Harry replied, somehow feeling relieved at the solution. "Thanks, Remus, for thinking about it though," he added, smiling, before he took his leave and headed to the Great Hall.

He was just a few steps before reaching the entrance hall, when he suddenly felt that he could not move his feet any further. _'It's almost as if someone had cast a sticking charm at me,'_ he thought and silently and wandlessly cast '_Finite Incantatem.'_

To his relief, he could cancel the sticking charm, however, before he could move any further, he was attacked from both sides with what seemed to be Quaffle bats. From the corner of his eyes, he could see two blurry figures, just before he knew no more.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate it very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	17. Draco Malfoy

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

Poppy Pomfrey was just enjoying lunch in the Great Hall together with her best friends Minerva and Rolanda, when all of a sudden Fawkes appeared in front of her, turning his back to her in apparent invitation.

Poppy rose from her chair and grabbed the phoenix' tail feathers, right before the bird flashed away in a bright flash.

When her surroundings manifested again, she found herself – as expected – back in her own domain. However, she could only gasp at the scene in front of her. In the first bed, right next to her office, was a badly beaten student.

Immediately turning into healer's mode, she hurried to the boy's side, already waving her wand.

_'He's alive, thank Merlin,'_ she thought, only now realising that it was Harry Potter. Absentmindedly noticing that Minerva had followed her into the hospital wing, she instructed her friend to fetch a cloth and begin cleaning the boy, while she cast spell over spell to repair the damage.

"Julia and Astoria," Minerva addressed the girl who had followed her into the hospital wing and were standing there wearing horrified expressions, "please go to the founders' quarters and ask Hogwarts if she knows what happened to Harry."

The two girls nodded and ran away without further ado.

HP

By the time Harry's mind turned to awareness, the hospital wing was lying in the dark. Only two torches were lit along the window side. He let out a small groan at the pain that flared up, as soon as he moved.

"Harry, are you all right?" he heard a voice whisper, half-echoed by another and looked around in confusion.

"Who's there?" he finally asked, unable to see anyone.

"It's Susan and Astoria," a voice, which he recognised as Astoria's, informed him. "Sorry, we borrowed your invisibility cloak."

"What happened?" Harry enquired, feeling very grateful for his friends' presence.

Before the girls could reply, however, Madam Pomfrey approached his bed, wearing her night gown.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, already beginning to cast diagnostic spells at him.

"Just a little sore," Harry replied, inwardly groaning at the unwanted attention. _'Just give me a pain-relieving potion and go back to bed,'_ he thought in annoyance, before he remembered to ask, "Excuse me, Madam, but what happened?"

"Apparently, Mr. Malfoy cast an immobility spell at you, before Messrs. Crabbe and Goyle brutally attacked you," the healer informed him. "Crabbe and Goyle have already been expelled from Hogwarts and their wands snapped. Mr. Malfoy is on probation and has detention with Professors Black and Lupin until the end of the school year. Now, if you don't have further questions, drink this and go back to sleep." She held out a small phial to him.

_'Thank Merlin she didn't notice that Astoria and Susan are here,'_ Harry thought as he gratefully took the pain-relieving potion, sighing in relief, when the pain receded.

"Thank you, Madam," he replied, as he returned the phial.

"Good night, Harry," Pomfrey said in a soft voice, before she retreated to her private rooms.

As soon as the healer walked away, he noticed a small weight press on the mattress on his right side, realising that his friends had sat down again. _'Thank Merlin they never took off the invisibility cloak,'_ he thought; however, before he could voice the thought, his attention was drawn towards the other side, where no other than Draco Malfoy appeared out of the shadows.

"Potter," he drawled. "I'm sorry that my friends were too stupid to pull through with my order to kill you, after what you did."

"What did I do?" Harry asked with bewilderment, quickly thinking to his team mates, 'Team 5, I'm sorry, but I might need you in the hospital wing at Hogwarts immediately.'

"It's your fault that my father has been taken to Azkaban," Draco hissed. "He didn't even get a trial."

"He got a trial ten years ago and lied through his teeth," Susan spoke up, appearing out of the invisibility cloak.

Harry's trained ears heard the distinctive pop of his colleagues, who remained behind Draco, invisibly. His classmates seemed to be unaware of the Unspeakables' presence, as they did not do as much as look into the direction, where the sound had come from.

"Anyway, I'm going to finish what Crabbe and Goyle were too stupid for," Draco announced pointing his wand at Harry.

"You're going to kill Harry in front of witnesses?" Astoria enquired, pulling off the invisibility cloak.

"I don't care," Draco said, coldly. "Then I can join my father in Azkaban. He's a much better wizard that Potter would ever be."

He only managed to utter the first half of the unforgivable killing curse, before he slumped onto the floor, stunned, and the four Unspeakables revealed themselves.

"Children don't go to Azkaban, but I have a much better idea," Ra growled, while his colleagues sent out Patroni to the headmistress and Alastor Moody.

Harry quietly listened to Susan and Astoria, who talked to him in quiet voice, while they were waiting for Amelia and her successor as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to arrive.

"You better go back under the invisibility cloak, before your auntie sees you," Harry advised the girls, however, Ra contradicted.

"No Harry, we need the girls as witnesses to what happened before our arrival."

During the following fifteen minutes, Harry was barely able to remain awake, while Moody questioned the Unspeakables and the girls, before the old Auror addressed him.

"Harry, can you agree with everything that has been said here?" he enquired.

"Yes sir," Harry replied, letting out a yawn.

"Very well, I'm going to take young Mr. Malfoy into a ministry holding cell, and he'll have a trial in front of the Wizengamot in a few days' time," Moody announced, before he swiftly took Draco away with a Portkey.

"Thanks for coming and saving my life and probably Susan's and Astoria's as well," Harry said, facing his colleagues.

"You're welcome, Harry," Raros replied, sighing. "Please don't make it a habit to find yourself in front of killing curses."

"Yes Amelia, this is now the second time in six months that we've been called to Hogwarts, because someone cast or attempted to cast the killing curse at Harry," Ra added, accusingly. "Isn't there anything that can be done to secure his safety at the school?"

Amelia nodded, gravely. "I know, Ra, and I feel especially bad this time, as he only got into this situation, because he came to help me in the first place. Well, it's really late, and I suggest that we continue this conversation tomorrow."

When the Unspeakables took their leave, Amelia turned to the girls. "Return to your dormitory immediately. We'll speak about what you were doing here tomorrow."

"Ah Auntie, we were so worried about Harry," Susan replied, sounding very upset. "No one told us what happened, before we went to the founders' quarters and asked Hogwarts herself."

"I'm very proud of you, but still, you need to go to bed now," Amelia said, sternly. "Good night, Harry, good night, Astoria and Susan."

Before the three witches had even left the hospital wing, Harry was already asleep.

HP

On the first day of the summer holidays, the trial against Draco Malfoy took place in front of the Wizengamot, and the children of the Great Alliance sat in the audience room together with their two Ravenclaw friends. They were looking at the Wizengamot chamber in expectation, when Draco was led in by four Aurors and was chained to a seat in front of the chamber.

They did not have classes together with Draco, however, most of the children had known their classmate from gatherings of the pureblood families and greatly disliked him.

Amos Diggory as the head of the Wizengamot opened the session. "We have assembled today for the trial of Draco Malfoy. The head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Alastor Moody, has the floor."

"Draco Malfoy," Moody began to speak, "you're accused of casting the killing curse at Harry Potter in the hospital wing of Hogwarts in the early morning of the eighteenth of May. What do you say?"

If Harry had expected the boy to deny everything, he was sorely mistaken.

"I just wished the Unspeakables hadn't prevented me from finishing what I began," Draco said in a clear voice, causing the children in the audience to gasp.

"You also cast an immobilizing spell at Mr. Potter the evening before, so that your friends could beat him up. Is that true?"

"Yes," Draco admitted. "Unfortunately, they were too stupid to kill him."

Harry's thoughts slowly drifted off, as memories of the Dursleys trying to harm him popped up in his mind. He did not listen to the questions for Draco anymore nor to the discussion within the Wizengamot and only absentmindedly smiled, when he felt Astoria and Julia link their arms to him from both sides.

_'Even if I'm still a freak and people still try to harm me, at least I have a whole group of wonderful friends,'_ Harry thought, feeling very much reassured by his friends' presence.

He only looked up, when all of a sudden, the members of the Wizengamot shot red and blue sparks out of their wands. Upon closer look, he realised that the sparks drifted straight into two large glasses on the desk before Mr. Diggory, where it was evident that the number of the blue sparks outnumbered the red ones by far. In fact, there were only about five red sparks.

"Young Mr. Malfoy's punishment has been verified and accepted by the Wizengamot," Diggory spoke up, seeming pleased.

Harry looked around in surprise, when his friends began to cheer. "What does that mean?" he blurted out, uncertain what he had missed.

"Did you not listen at all?" Astoria asked, accusingly.

"Draco has been sentenced to a five-year imprisonment with the goblins, where he has to work cleaning dragon dung and such," Julia supplied, grinning.

"And after five years, when he's going to be an adult in the wizarding world, he's going to be questioned under Veritaserum to see if he regrets what he did," Daphne continued to explain.

"If not, he's going to go into Azkaban for the rest of his life," Susan added, seeming contented, and explained, "Right now, he's too young for Azkaban. He only just turned twelve."

HP

When they left the audience room together, Rita Skeeter was waiting outside together with several other reporters. She quickly hugged Julia and placed a kiss on her forehead before turning to Amelia.

"At least Draco Malfoy got a trial. Headmistress Bones, can you tell me as the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, why Lord Malfoy was put into Azkaban without a trial?"

Amelia glared at the woman, who was wearing bright green robes. "I am not the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement anymore. That's Alastor Moody now, and it was his choice to take Malfoy straight to Azkaban. If you wish to hear my opinion, he had his trial ten years ago, and it was based on lies from his side. No one needs a repetition of these lies. Therefore, I believe that it was the right thing to forego another trial."

With that she left the ministry, and the children hurried after her.

HP

During the summer holidays, Harry went to join the Unspeakables for training on a daily basis. Only during the weekends, the children of the Great Alliance plus Hermione and Julia joined him, Susan and Luna at Hogwarts. While Harry was at work, Susan and Luna usually helped one or the other professor, and even Julia spent some time at Hogwarts with Luna assisting Professor Scamander to care for the magical creatures on the Hogwarts grounds.

"Harry," Arcturus said one day, "ever after that sorry attempt of the Animagus transformation, where you changed your arm into that of a soft, pink cuddly killer bear, you haven't tried to transform at all. I thought you were going to become a griffin Animagus."

Harry let out a deep sigh. "I know," he groaned. "I really want to become an Animagus, but what was that pinkish arm, a bunny?" he asked, incredulously, giving Arcturus a horrified look.

Arcturus and Regulus, who was watching them, blurted out laughing.

"Reg did some research," Arcturus admitted. "The only magical animal close to what your arm looked like is the fluffy pink cuddly killer bear. It's extinct in our time, however, if you ask the founders of Hogwarts in their portraits, they'll surely know it. These relatively small bears look so harmless that you want to cuddle them. Unfortunately, it will be the last thing you ever do, since their bite is deadly. I believe that it would not be an unfortunate Animagus form."

"A cuddly bear?" Harry asked, incredulously. "Just what I need to kill Vold… Oh," he interrupted himself. "Maybe it's not too bad," he then admitted, thoughtfully. "All right, I'll practise again."

Later the same day, Harry asked the founders about the fluffy pink cuddly killer bear and received much information about the long-lost magical creature.

"It might be very convenient, especially since it's extinct in this time," Rowena informed him. "No one would suspect that you're poisonous."

"I want to become an Animagus, too," Julia spoke up, who had joined Susan and Luna in the founders' quarters after assisting Professor Scamander. "May I practise with you?"

"You may practise as long as Minerva, Amelia or I are with you," Sirius spoke up in a firm voice. "Otherwise, it might be very dangerous. Remus, what about you? Since you're not a werewolf anymore, there's no reason for you to not become an Animagus."

"Let's try all together," Amelia suggested, eagerly. "I'm in."

During the holidays, Harry practised the transformation every free minute – supervised or not – and as his twelfth birthday came by, he finally managed to transform into the fluffy pink cuddly killer bear, resolving to immediately begin to practise changing into a griffin.

During his birthday party, which Susan and Luna had arranged for him, he surprised everyone by transforming into his Animagus form, patiently enduring that each of the girls wanted to pull him into a bear hug, muttering just how cute he was in apparent amazement.

"See to it that he doesn't get Wrackspurts, as his bite is deadly," Luna warned the others, smiling at the way how everyone wanted to cuddle with Harry.

"Is that true?" Astoria asked, wide-eyed, causing Susan to nod in confirmation.

"We're all trying to become Animagi," she informed her friend. "Why don't we all try together, when school begins again? We could practise in the boys' dormitory after curfew or just here in the founders' quarters."

Everyone was all for it, and Harry happily agreed to teach everyone.

"I'll ask Mum to brew the Animagus potion for you," Luna promised, and Susan and Daphne immediately promised to assist.

"Mum and we are going to return to Hogwarts soon anyway," Astoria said, smiling.

"I'm glad that your mother is our head of house. She's really nice," Harry commented, "and I can't wait to really have everyone back here, not only during the weekends," he added, sighing.

HP

From the beginning of the new school year onwards, the now second-years practised the Animagus transformation under the critical eyes of Sirius, Remus and the founders in their portrait. By now, Remus had already managed the transformation into a light brown wolf, and Amelia was still working on her bear Animagus form.

'_I can't wait until they'll all be able to change. We can have an Animagus party out on the grounds,'_ Harry thought in amusement, as he joined his classmates to try for his griffin form.

HP

Unfortunately, by Christmas, only Amelia, Remus and Harry had managed the transformation, however, none of the other children.

"Harry, you just have to be patient," Sirius told him, when they were gathered in the Great Hall for breakfast on Christmas morning. "I took James, Peter and me three years to become Animagi."

Harry was just about to reply, when everyone's attention turned to Amelia, who let out a loud gasp.

"I have just received a letter from Anton Hehl, the headmaster of the Kilian's School for Magic, which is the largest magical school in Germany," Amelia informed them. "He's inviting our school to participate in the Triwizard tournament together with Beauxbatons, the biggest magical school in France. It's not going to take place during the next school year, but the year after that."

"In about twenty months then?" Astoria enquired.

"Yes," Amelia replied, smiling at the eager girl. "We are invited to participate and are allowed to bring a group of twenty to thirty students as spectators. Each school has one champion who is going to compete in three different tasks. He points out that only adults above the age of seventeen are allowed to become a champion though. What do you think?"

"That sounds amazingly cool," Sirius was the first to comment. "Too bad that I'm not a student anymore. I'd love to compete."

Amelia scoffed. "If we decide to participate," she informed her fiancé, "you'll have a very different job. You're going to be responsible for our transportation to Germany."

"What? Me?" Sirius squealed, giving the headmistress a horrified look. "I don't have a clue about transportation."

"That's not a problem at all," Miranda spoke up, surprising everyone. "I know where the Kilian's School for Magic is. It's situated right on the shore of the river Main. So we just only need a boat, which is small enough for the river but large enough from the inside to house twenty students plus a couple of teachers."

"Maybe we better make it a boat, which is also able to fly, so we can make some excursions during the weekends," Sirius added, pensively.

"Nonsense," Remus contradicted. "In Germany, we'll be well able to apparate or use Portkeys just like here. We really only need a boat for everyone to travel from the lake over the small connection route to the North Sea, then through the river Rhine and into the river Main."

Harry inwardly groaned. _'As long as I don't have to participate, this sounds like fun,' _he thought. _'Too bad that we can't take the whole school though. Maybe I should involve the Unspeakables in the planning.'_

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate it very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	18. Animagi

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

During the following months, the children of the Great Alliance plus their Ravenclaw friends spent every free minute in the founders' quarters practising the Animagus transformation. Minerva and Harry as well as one phoenix, two Aesculapian serpents and three marmalade cats were watching their every move. Sometimes, Amelia, Miranda, Minerva, Sirius, Remus and Harry transformed into their Animagus forms and joined the animals playing. They had so much fun that the children were motivated to do their best to join in their play.

To everyone's surprise, it was Hermione, who was the first to be able to transform her whole body – into a kneazle cat.

"Oh, show this to all the pureblood fanatics," Daphne said in apparent delight. "A muggleborn student is the first to manage the Animagus transformation."

"And into a magical animal at that," Astoria added in obvious amazement.

"Well done, Hermione," Minerva commented, before she transformed into her own Animagus form and chased the new feline through the room, gently helping her student up, when she stumbled over her own four feet. Soon they were joined by the other three cats, who quickly welcomed the kneazle cat into their midst.

=Hermione, can you understand me?= Harry asked in his griffin form.

=Harry? I can hear you,= the kneazle replied, slowly approaching the much larger griffin.

=That's great,= Harry said with enthusiasm. =So far, as a griffin, I was only able to communicate with Fawkes, Fussy and Tussi, the Aesculapian serpents, and the other cats including Minerva, but not with the bear, dog and wolf. As a bear, I could only communicate with Amelia, Fawkes and the snakes. Wait a moment.= He quickly changed into his pink bear form and tried to speak with the kneazle, feeling very happy when it worked.

"Okay, so you can communicate with other magical animals and with the same species," Hermione concluded, once she was back in her human form.

"Exactly," Harry confirmed and, turning to their friends, added, "Please see to it that you transform into magical animals, so that we can talk to each other."

A collective snort was the unanimous response.

HP

Glad that he had to teach less classes than his colleagues, as Alchemy was only an electable subject, Sirius spent his entire free time researching boats and the various concepts of magical travel. In a couple of Transfiguration steps, he had already made a small dragon boat, which he kept at the entrance to the lake below the castle together with the boats that were used to take the first-years over the lake on the first of September. No one but the house-elves used to come to the spot, so that he was completely undisturbed.

_'As much as I want to keep this a secret and surprise them next year, I need help,'_ he realised, when he inefficiently tried to enlarge the inside. Seeing how two house-elves were busying themselves repairing one of the school's boats, a sudden idea crossed his mind.

"Dobby!" he called his godson's elf, who appeared with a loud crack.

"What cans Dobby dos for the great Harry Potter's Paddy?" Dobby enquired, wringing his hands.

"Dobby, will you promise me to keep this a secret from everyone?" Sirius asked, causing Dobby to nod eagerly.

"Yes yes, Dobby wills keeps the great Harry Potter's Paddy's secret a secret," Dobby promised, reassuringly.

Sirius inwardly groaned. "Dobby, can you please just call me Sirius?" he demanded in exasperation.

Dobby stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Look Dobby, what I'm trying to do," Sirius explained, trying his best to remain patient with the eccentric elf, "is to make a ship for Hogwarts' delegation to travel to the Kilian's School for Magic for the Triwizard Tournament. I want to keep this boat small from the outside, however, it must be quite big inside, because we need to accommodate maybe thirty people with bedrooms, bathrooms, a dining room and one or two classrooms. Do you think you can help me with that? We have a year to get everything done," he added as an afterthought.

Dobby nodded, pensively. "Yes, Dobby cans," he then said, slowly. "How do you wants the boat to move?" he then asked. "Do you know how to charm the boat?"

"I don't have a clue," Sirius replied, sighing, before he explained, what he wanted.

Dobby looked at him, seemingly deep in thought, before he promised, "Dobby wills check with other elfsies how to do such things. Dobby wills helps the great Harry Potter's Sirius."

"Thanks Dobby," Sirius replied, gratefully.

From that time onwards, he and Dobby met at the boat every day between the last afternoon class and dinner, and together, they slowly charmed the boat's inside, so that it could house about fifty people.

As they progressed, Sirius had to admit to himself that it was much fun working together with Dobby in anticipation of his fiancée's and his godson's as well as the others' surprise upon seeing the result. '_I can't wait,'_ he thought, as he added an additional room to his plan.

HP

With classes, Unspeakable training on Sundays, assisting his classmates with the Animagus transformation and spending some quality time with his closest friends, the rest of the school year passed in a blur. Too soon for Harry's liking, the school year ended, and the whole school said good-bye to the seventh-years at the leaving feast.

In contrary to what Harry had told Hermione during their first year about the seating arrangements at the leaving feast, he motioned Hermione and Julia to sit together with their friends at the Hufflepuff table.

"I thought we had to sit at our own house-tables for the feast?" Hermione asked, giving him a sharp look.

Harry merely shrugged. "I don't think that anyone will complain," he replied, casually, thinking, _'They should know better than to question me. Of course, I've asked Amelia about the matter in advance.'_

"Harry," Julia whispered, as the feast slowly came to its end, "could we go out to the lake for a few minutes?"

'_Now?'_ Harry thought in shock, however, not wanting to refuse, he quickly agreed, wondering what Julia wanted to speak about.

As soon as the feast ended, he motioned for his friends to go ahead and led Julia out the large entrance doors. They slowly headed down to the lake, where they took a seat on one of the benches.

"Is everything all right?" Harry enquired. "Are you all right going back to your Mum tomorrow?"

Julia let out a long sigh. "Oh well, as you know, my mother is not the most cheerful person in the world, but she's still my mum. The good thing is that she doesn't mind me coming to Hogwarts to see you or the others or help Professor Scamander and Luna with the animals. Otherwise, I'd just be alone at home, as she has to work anyway," Julia replied, smiling.

Before Harry could reply, Professor Scamander passed the path in front of their bench and stopped to speak with Harry.

"Mr. Potter," he addressed the boy, "would it be possible to borrow your invisibility cloak for a day? I'd like to approach a very rare magical creature without being seen and…" He interrupted himself, apparently realising that Harry was very absentminded.

_'He never calls me Mr. Potter, always just Harry,'_ Harry thought in surprise. _'I wonder who told him about my invisibility cloak. I've never used it, and only my closest family knows about it.'_ Something seemed off with the old wizard. Harry quickly cast a soundless and wandless spell to confirm that the person in front of him was not Professor Scamander but was an unknown person under Polyjuice potion.

"If you come back one day without the influence of Polyjuice potion, I might consider the matter," he replied in a firm voice and, not waiting for the other person's reaction, grabbed Julia's arm and popped them both away.

When they materialised in Harry's own bedroom in the founders' quarters, Julia stared at Harry in confusion.

"What was that?" she asked, absentmindedly caressing Fussy's head, while Tussi curled up around Harry's neck.

"That wasn't Professor Scamander," Harry replied in a soft voice. "I don't know who it was, but it was someone else under Polyjuice potion. I've no idea."

"Harry," Julia said, pensively, "it was strange. I don't know why exactly I asked you to go out to the lake tonight. It was nice, but…" She slowly trailed off, giving him a questioning look.

"Let's go and speak with the adults," Harry said, resolutely. "I have a feeling that something is very wrong here."

Upon hearing Harry's and Julia's concerns, Amelia immediately cast a series of spells at the girl – only to realise that Dumbledore seemed to have put her under the Imperius curse to lure Harry out onto the grounds after the feast.

"It probably was him," she decided and asked, "Fawkes, could you perhaps sense Albus Dumbledore out on the grounds tonight?"

The phoenix bobbed his head up and down.

#I'm sorry, Nestling, for not doing anything. When I realised that it was him, you already popped back into the castle,# the phoenix trilled in a soothing voice. #Don't worry, Chick, when he comes again, I'll be there in an egg beat.#

"If he comes again, please take Tussi with you and instruct her to attack him," Harry replied in a firm voice. "How dare he put Julia under the Imperius curse."

"If we ever get to catch him, he'll go into Azkaban for the rest of his life," Amelia promised. "The problem is that we need to find him first."

HP

_'Too bad that Dumbledore disturbed us,' _Harry thought, when he was lying in his bed in the Hufflepuff second year boys' dormitory. _'Being with Julia without any of the others was nice. She's nice, and her hair smells like flowers. Maybe I can use the holidays to spend some time with one or the other of the girls alone. That way, I could get to know them better. The only girls I know really well are Susan and Luna, because we've spent much time together. I like Astoria, too though. Perhaps it would be great spending some time with her as well. Or Hermione. I'll just have to be careful that Sirius doesn't notice anything though; otherwise, he'd tease me infinitely.'_

With that pleasant thought in mind, Harry drifted off to sleep.

HP

In spite of his resolution of making time to meet his friends one by one, he was uncertain just when he could make time, considering that he was working from Monday through Friday and his friends came to visit during the whole weekend.

On Wednesday during the first week of the holidays, he happened to be alone with Meta, as the three older wizards had gone on an errand.

"Tonks," he spoke up, hesitantly, causing the Metamorphmagus to look at him with a smile. "I need some advice," he added, somehow feeling uncomfortable at talking about the matter.

"What is it, Harry?" Tonks asked, gently, giving him an encouraging nod.

"I've many friends, but I'm never alone with them," Harry blurted out. "How am I supposed to get to know the girls and eventually choose a girlfriend?"

Tonks could not help chuckling. "That's a good question indeed," she said in understanding upon hearing about Harry's schedule. "Why don't you finish work at, for example, two o'clock every Friday afternoon and invite one or the other girl for a date? That way, you'll be through all of them by the end of the holidays."

"No, I don't need dates with all of them," Harry replied, pensively. "There are only a couple whom I'd like to get to know better. Maybe six or seven of them. Do you think it'll be all right to leave so early on Fridays?"

Tonks nodded. "We all have times that we need for something private, and you're always here at eight, while Mento and I never make an appearance before nine. Still, you stay until everyone else goes home. Believe me, Harry, you're working more than enough."

"All right," Harry happily agreed. "I'll do that then."

As soon as he returned home, he scribbled a note to Julia.

_'Dear Julia,  
how about meeting at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at 2 o'clock on Friday afternoon? I would like to meet you there. Please let us keep this from the others though.  
Harry'_

Folding up the parchment, he sent Fawkes to give it to Julia, noticing from the fact that he returned just a minute later that she had to be at Hogwarts.

A few minutes later, Julia and Luna came to the founders' quarters, and Julia cast him an unobtrusive nod.

_'She's always in a good mood,'_ Harry thought, returning the girl's smile. _'I wonder if going for an ice cream is the best activity for a first date though. If I want to meet with Luna, we'll probably have to visit the zoo.'_

HP

When he approached Diagon Alley on Friday afternoon, Harry felt extremely awkward. _'What are we going to talk about?'_ he wondered. _'I should have brought Luna. She always knows something to say.'_

To his relief, Julia began to speak, as soon as they had ordered their Ice Cream Sundae.

"Harry, I'm so glad that I transferred to Hogwarts," she said, smiling broadly. "Yesterday, I received a letter from one of my friends from Brazil, and the only good teacher we had has retired from the school. Thank Merlin I met you in December and let you talk me into coming to Hogwarts."

"That's great," Harry replied, smiling. "I'm glad to have you here."

"Would you mind," Julia asked, once they had finished their ice cream, "going to Flourish and Blotts for a while? My father sent me some pocket money, because I did quite well at school, and I'd like to buy a new book."

"Of course," Harry agreed, inwardly smirking. '_She's a bit like Hermione, who's more of a bookworm than anyone else,'_ he thought.

Together, they headed to the bookshop, where they spent the following two hours exploring the Care of Magical Creatures, Charms and Alchemy sections.

"What electives are you planning to take?" Julia enquired, seeing Harry look at an Introduction to Alchemy book.

Harry shrugged. "I suppose that I'm going to take Alchemy, considering that my Godfather is teaching it," he said, uncertainly. "Other than that probably Care of Magical Creatures, and you?"

Julia nodded, smiling. "Care of Magical Creatures of course, and other than that either Ancient Runes or Alchemy. I wonder if we could take both. It says we have to take two electives, but is it written anywhere that we can't take three?"

"What a brilliant idea," Harry replied, eagerly. "If that's possible, I'll take Ancient Runes as well. I'll ask Amelia tonight," he promised, before he helped Julia to select two books from the Care of Magical Creatures shelf and bought the introduction into Alchemy, knowing that his friends would probably be interested to check it out, too.

Finally leaving the bookshop, Harry accompanied Julia to the Daily Prophet, where the girl was going to meet with her mother to return home together.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Harry," Julia replied. "Thank you so much for your company as well as the ice cream and the books. You really didn't have to do that."

"It's fine," Harry replied, smiling, only to stare at the girl in shock, when she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye Harry, see you tomorrow," she gushed and hurriedly entered the building in front of them, leaving Harry to stand there and touch his cheek in surprise.

_'That was sudden, but it was nice,'_ he thought, as he slowly began to walk again, heading around the corner into a side street, from where he simply popped himself home, his thoughts still lingering on the kiss.

HP

He was still pondering whom to invite the following Friday, when Amelia shared news with Susan and him that made him reconsider his activities for the following two weeks.

"Sirius, Remus, Miranda and I have decided to hold a double wedding on the first of July," Amelia informed them. "Would you be willing to help with the preparations?"

"Of course," Harry and Susan replied, simultaneously. "Will our friends be welcome to attend as well?" Susan added, giving her aunt a pleading look.

"If they wish to attend, they will be welcome," Amelia replied, nodding in confirmation. "We're going to have the ceremony here on the Hogwarts grounds, so there will be space enough."

'Let's practise some kind of Animagi theatre for the occasion,' Harry thought to Susan, who gave him an unobtrusive nod that showed her enthusiasm for the idea.

In the morning, they discussed the matter with their friends. Most of them had already managed the Animagus transformation, and they had a variety of mammals, reptiles and birds among them. Only Tracey and Neville were still struggling with their transformation, and Susan quickly decided that they should work as the coordinators.

"Considering that we can't communicate among each other – apart from the magical animals and the same species – we need one or better two coordinators," she said, matter-of-factly.

To Harry's relief, Tracey and Neville readily agreed to play the part, and the children all worked together to invent a funny story for everyone's entertainment.

HP

The first of July was a bright and warm summer day, and the seventeen children were out on the grounds practising their play from the early morning onwards.

Harry was just playing his first part, which was in his griffin form, when he noticed a beetle that was lingering in front of him.

_'That beetle has been here the whole time; it's really unnerving,'_ he thought, and snapped at the little animal, only to notice that it had a strange magical aura and quickly spat it out again. _'Was that a magical beetle?'_ he wondered, when the beetle quickly took flight.

_'Strange,'_ he mused, when all of a sudden Neville's voice penetrated his ears. "Harry, you must transform."

An instant later, Harry saw to his other role – in his pink cuddly killer bear form.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. I appreciate it very much. Please let me know what you think of this chapter and what you expect from this story. Any ideas or opinions are welcome._


	19. Preparations

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Thank Merlin no other students were here today," Minerva sighed after an exciting wedding day. "Otherwise, we'd have to teach the Animagus transformation to the whole school from the beginning of the school year onwards."

"It's amazing how they managed to become Animagi as a group and as second-years on top of it. Too bad that I can't give points during the holidays," Pandora countered, "otherwise, Hufflepuff would be far in the lead already."

"You were a Ravenclaw if I remember correctly," Minerva replied, giving the Potions mistress a sharp look.

"But my daughter is a Hufflepuff," Pandora replied, only to add, proudly, "and finished her second year as the second best in spite of being a year younger than everyone else apart from Astoria. That's at least as good as having been sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Especially as the first was Hermione, who is not only a Ravenclaw but also an absolute bookworm," Susan spoke up, smirking.

"In spite of being muggleborn," Minerva added in clear amazement.

"The main thing for us is that our Luna is happy," Xenophilius Lovegood, who had remained after the wedding to for once join his wife and her colleagues for the evening, "and that she seems to be."

Everyone nodded in agreement, smiling at the proud father.

_'Luna is extremely clever,'_ Harry mused with a small smile playing on his lips at the thought of the eccentric girl, who had already gone to bed.

"What's so funny, Harry?" Susan enquired in apparent amusement, lightly boxing his upper arm.

"Ah nothing," Harry replied, inwardly groaning upon realising that he could not keep himself from blushing, "just thinking of Luna."

Susan chuckled in obvious amusement. "Yes, she looked beautiful today."

"That's true," Harry admitted, automatically, recalling Luna, as she had stood next to the lake wearing a white one-piece with embroideries of all kinds of magical animals.

"Do you like her?" Susan enquired, apparently trying to hide a grin.

"I don't know," Harry admitted, "well yes, but I like many girls," he blurted out, giving Susan a sheepish look.

"Oh, well, but there are different forms of like," Susan explained, "like, for example, I like you, but not like that, I mean, I like you more as a brother, not as a boyfriend if you understand what I mean."

"I understand what you're saying," Harry replied, earnestly, ignoring the adults, who were following their conversation in obvious amusement. "I like you like a sister," he confirmed. "But there are still some girls who I like in a different way," he admitted.

"Well, in the end, you have to decide on one though," Susan said, matter-of-factly, causing Harry to let out a deep sigh.

"That's the problem," he groaned, more to himself than to anyone else.

"You do not necessarily have to decide," Xenophilius Lovegood spoke up. "You're the head of three magical houses if I'm not mistaken. So you could choose one wife for each of these families, which makes three wives, four if the wife is the sole heir to one of the ancient houses herself."

Harry stared at the older wizard in shock. "Is it even possible to have multiple wives?" he enquired, eagerly.

_'Maybe that would be the solution to my problem,'_ he thought.

"Yes, it is possible, Harry," Pandora confirmed, "however, you are only barely thirteen and still have several years to think about the matter and to fall in love with one or more girls," she added in a soft voice that strongly reminded him of Luna.

"That's true," he agreed, smiling. "Thank you so much for your advice."

HP

Severus Snape was sitting on the hidden beach owned by the Kilian's School for Magic, which was completely out of the range of muggles, nursing a glass of red wine on this quiet summer night. The wine of the region was very good.

_'Soon, school is going to commence again,'_ he thought, realising that he did not really care, considering that he did not have to teach the dunderheads but only had to brew potions. Apart from his tasks as the school's potions master, he had ample time for his own research.

_'It's the most brilliant job in the world,'_ he thought, feeling extremely contented. _'The only problem is that the Dark Mark is getting darker again after barely being visible for a decade,' he thought,_ letting out a deep sigh. '_If the Dark Lord returns, and I'm sure that he's going to return considering the change in the Dark Mark, Albus will surely want me to spy again. On the other hand, I really have to doubt his loyalties. He's outright working against Potter, obviously driven by his mad idea of getting the three Deathly Hallows in order to become the Master of Death, if I can believe his ramblings the other night,'_ he thought, grimly.

_'If he really intends to lure the boy to Germany and make him participate in the Triwizard tournament, even if I can't see any logic in doing so, I need to sort my priorities. Perhaps I should support Potter in secret,'_ he mused, pondering his situation for a long while, before he finally returned to the school, when the first signs of the early morning sun appeared on the horizon.

HP

In the morning of the first of September, Harry walked straight into an argument between Susan and the headmistress.

"Auntie, if you're going to take Harry to Germany with you, we're all going to join you," Susan said in a firm voice.

"Susan," Amelia replied, and from the exasperation swinging in her voice, Harry realised that the argument had probably been going on for some time already, "we're going to take the seventh-year students, who are of age. Harry is only going to join us as the owner of Hogwarts."

"Nevertheless," Susan insisted, stubbornly shaking her head, "if Harry goes, then the children of the Great Alliance will go as well. Harry needs us to watch out for him, and the seventh-years need some spectators anyway."

Amelia let out a deep sigh. "Well, but then we'll only allow those to accompany us who have only Os and Es in their end of year tests," she decided, "considering that they're going to miss most part of a whole school year."

Susan grinned broadly. "Challenge accepted, Auntie," she cheered before turning to Harry.

"Harry, we need to set up a plan who is going to tutor our whole group in which subject."

Harry nodded in understanding, as he sat beside her on the sofa, conjuring parchment and a quill for the eager girl.

"Luna for Transfiguration, Julia for Care of Magical Creatures, you for Defence and Hermione for everything else?" Susan suggested, smirking, causing Harry to roll his eyes at his surrogate sister.

"Hermione is going to be extremely busy, considering that she took three electables in contrary to most people, who only took two," Harry reminded her. "I'm also going to be busy with three of them."

Susan nodded. "I know. Me too, but still we need to set aside at least three evenings a week if not five to teach the others, so that we'll be able to travel to Germany together next school year."

"We'll manage," Harry assured her, grinning.

"Some of us need to get rid of their wrackspurts to come with us," Luna spoke up, airily, as she took a seat next to Harry, "but we'll work on it."

The seventeen friends had made a collective decision to take Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes as electives. Harry, Susan, Julia, Daphne, Hermione, Luna and Astoria had chosen Alchemy on top of it, mainly because Sirius was teaching the class.

"Thank Merlin that we have all the classes together, even the electables," Luna said, smiling, causing Harry and Susan to nod in agreement.

"Yeah, that's true," Harry replied, looking through the large window to a spot over the lake, where Professor Scamander was riding a hippogriff.

"Is that Julia riding in front of him?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," Luna replied, simply, only to add, "I believe that Professor Scamander needs our assistance today with some last-minute preparations. I'll see you later." With that, she skipped away, smiling broadly.

"I could need some assistance as well," Amelia spoke up, giving Susan and Harry a questioning look.

"Of course," the thirteen-year-olds promised, simultaneously, looking at the headmistress in silent question.

HP

Harry was very pleased with his choice of electives. Apart from his friends, only very few students had taken Alchemy, however, in Harry's opinion, it was the best of his three new classes, as Sirius managed to make his lessons extremely interesting. When he promised the students that they were going to make their own brooms in their seventh year, everyone was thrilled and eager to keep up with their class to make sure that they were able to get into the NEWT class after their OWL.

"Excuse me, sir," Hermione spoke up, sounding upset, "what about the students who have absolutely no interest in brooms or flying? What are we going to do during our seventh year?"

Sirius grinned. "Ah but Hermione, you should really try it out. Flying is just brilliant. Oh well, but Alchemy has several fantastic features. Depending on your abilities, you could try to make a stone. There are others beside the famous, red Philosopher's Stone that enables someone to brew the elixir of life. There's a yellow stone that allows the creation of jewels, a blue and a green stone with other wonderful features. So there are many options apart from the creation of a broom," he explained, smiling.

"Oh all right, thank you sir," Hermione replied, seemingly pleased by Sirius' explanation.

"Excuse me, sir," Julia spoke up, "while I love flying, I'd be very interested to see what kind of stones we could make. Do you have a list somewhere?"

Sirius shook his head. "You won't get to know any of this before taking your OWLs. Only during the first class of your sixth year, I shall advise you and give each of you some choices. You'll then have your whole sixth year to decide what you're going to work on during your final NEWT year. The more you study until then, the more options you have, and before you get your hopes up," he said over the noise that arose at his announcement, "please understand that any of these options are extremely difficult. I don't expect more than two or three of you to succeed if at all."

Needless to say that Harry's two Ravenclaw friends dragged their whole group to the library to research all possible kind of stones that could be made by the means of Alchemy at the next opportunity - to no avail.

_'Sirius probably put all the books with information about it into the restricted section,'_ Harry thought, grimly.

HP

"Meli," Sirius addressed his wife one evening, when the extended family was having tea in the founders' quarters, "how many people are we allowed to bring to the Triwizard tournament?"

"Twenty-five students and five teachers," Amelia replied, promptly. "Why are you asking, dear?"

Sirius let out a long sigh. "Even with Dobby assisting me, we have trouble enlarging the boat to such an extent, considering that we need classrooms, dormitories, rooms for the teachers etc. Oh well, I guess we'll be working on it for a while."

"Well, you still have eight months," Remus spoke up, smirking.

"Eleven months," Amelia corrected him, lightly. "We're going to travel on the fifteenth of October." She remained pensive for a moment before continuing, "The other day, I received a letter from Professor Hehl. He offered that we could take accommodation at the South European Ghost Holiday and Retirement Home. According to him, it's situated on a near-by mountain, and it can't be seen by muggles. They only see a fortress, which is locked up to them. We could either travel by the means of a magical gate or by our own vehicle, depending on the question if it's able to climb a mountain." She gave Sirius a curious look. "Apparently, the ghost home is equipped with a large courtyard sufficient to accommodate any vehicle," she added as an afterthought.

"Oh, that would help immensely," Sirius blurted out in apparent relief. "Ami, if you write back, please express our thanks and make sure that they reserve rooms for us in the ghost place."

"Ghost holiday and retirement home was it?" Miranda queried in apparent amusement.

"South European... yes," Amelia confirmed, smiling.

"Is it even equipped with beds?" Remus enquired. "Considering that ghosts don't need to sleep."

"If Professor Hehl offers it as accommodation, I trust that it's equipped accordingly," Amelia said in apparent exasperation, causing Harry to inwardly grin.

"If not, we could just transfigure some," Susan put into words what he thought.

"Exactly; are you a wizard or not?" he quipped, smirking.

"I believe that it's time for the children to go to bed. Curfew has already commenced," Minerva spoke up, matter-of-factly, causing Harry, Susan and Luna to quickly excuse themselves.

_'Of course it's after curfew,'_ Harry thought, _'considering that we always study until curfew.'_

Apart from Wednesdays, when Harry had to attend the Unspeakables' meeting, the seventeen children met in the Parlour of the founders' quarters to study together every evening after dinner, so as to make sure that each of them was able to get best marks in their end of year tests, so that they would be allowed to accompany the group to Germany during their fourth year.

HP

"Oh by the way," Sirius suddenly remembered to inform Harry, "this afternoon, Regulus and I went to Gringotts and bought the remaining share of the Daily Prophet, the twenty percent, which until now still belonged to Lucius Malfoy. Considering that he's in Azkaban and his heir is not in a much better position, it was a simple matter."

"Well done," his wife commended him, "just in case Mrs. Skeeter does something stupid again."

"Yes," Harry agreed, grimly, thinking, _'I really feel sorry for Julia to have such a bitch as a mother. Oh well, my mother's sister was not much better though.'_

HP

Shortly before Halloween, the first Hogsmeade visit was scheduled, and the group of friends was extremely excited.

For Harry, it was clear that the friends were going to explore the village together, especially, since he, Susan, Luna and the Greengrass girls already knew the village quite well due to spending at least part of the holidays at Hogwarts and would be able to guide the others.

However, on Thursday evening, Susan told him, "Harry, I'm gonna go on a date with Neville. Who are you going to take?"

Harry cast the girl a surprised look. "I thought we were all going together," he replied, questioningly.

"Well, most of them are going together, apart from Sue and Seamus, Padma and Ernie and Neville and me," Susan informed him. "We're going to meet at the Three Broomsticks for lunch though."

"Ah, is that why Tori was so upset the other day? Because she has to stay together with Daphne even if others separate?" Harry recalled Astoria's temper tantrum in front of her mother, the Hufflepuff head, a few days ago.

"Yes, she and Luna have to stay together either with Daphne or with their mother, because they're only twelve," Susan confirmed, rolling her eyes. "Maybe you could ask Julia out for a date?" she then suggested, smiling.

Harry fidgeted in his seat, his thoughts going haywire. "Do you think she'd go on a date with me?" he finally asked, uncertainly.

"Did you tell me that she kissed you a few months ago?" Susan recalled.

"Well, yes, that was that," Harry admitted, questioning himself why in the world he had told his surrogate sister about the matter at all.

"See?" Susan replied, grinning. "I know that she'd love to go on a date with you. Just ask her."

HP

_'How do I ask a girl to go on a date with me?'_ Harry wondered, once he was in bed that night.

Ever since the night when Dumbledore had disturbed their walk around the lake, they had gone out onto the grounds from time to time, however, they had not kissed again, and they had simply enjoyed their surroundings and the other's company. Mostly, they had talked about school matters as well as their families. It had always been Julia who had initiated their time together.

_'Maybe she's going to ask me about Hogsmeade as well,'_ Harry thought, hopefully. _'But it's already Thursday night, and we only have tomorrow to possibly fix a date. I must ask Susan how she did it. Maybe Neville invited her.'_

With that plan in mind, he peacefully drifted off to sleep.

HP

Susan stared at him in apparent exasperation. "Harry, the boy has to do the invitations," she informed him, matter-of-factly. "Of course, Neville invited me. Just ask her. She's probably just waiting for you to ask."

HP

On Friday evening, the group of friends was out on the grounds studying for Care of Magical Creatures under Julia's tutelage. When everyone returned to the castle on time for curfew, Harry took Julia aside.

"Julia, do you have a moment?" he asked, as they stepped through the entrance doors.

"Always," Julia replied, smiling, as she pulled him away into a deserted corridor.

"Would you perhaps go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?" Harry managed to ask, absentmindedly shooing a beetle from her arm.

"I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you, Harry," Julia replied, sounding outright happy.

She stepped over to him and covered his lips with her own that felt warm and soft. When she kissed him, Harry instinctively replied to the wonderful feeling.

From the corner of his eyes, he both observed with a combination of disbelief and horror how the beetle, which had annoyed them so many times already, transformed into a blonde woman.

"Leave my daughter in peace," the woman hissed at Harry. "She's only thirteen."

"Mum," Julia shouted, horrified.

"Mrs. Skeeter," Harry replied in an icy voice. "I believe that you're not allowed into the school. Please leave immediately."

"Stay away from my daughter," Skeeter shouted, as she fled out of the building transforming back into her beetle form mid-way.

"Sorry Harry," Julia spoke up, visibly shaken, "I had no idea that mum was a beetle Animagus."

"It's all right," Harry said in a soothing voice, "it's not your fault at all."

"Thank you, Harry," Julia replied with a small smile that did not reach her eyes.

Harry leaned over and pulled the girl into another kiss, which he thoroughly enjoyed and felt that Julia liked it as well.

When they parted a short while later, Harry called Dobby.

"Dobby, please call Hermione, Daphne, Susan and Luna and ask them to meet us in the founders' quarters," he instructed the elf. "We also need Amelia and Sirius, but I suppose that they're both there anyway."

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much._


	20. Rita Skeeter

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

When Harry and Julia walked towards the founders' quarters, Harry noticed that her steps became gradually slower.

"Julia," he said, tentatively, "are you all right?"

The girl cast him a smile, which, however, did not reach her eyes. "What's going to happen to my mother now?" she asked in a small voice. "I know that she's a bitch, and I feel very upset at what she did to us, but she's still my mum. Will they throw her into Azkaban?"

Harry let out a deep sigh, before he replied, "I don't know. The only thing I know is that she's not going to work at the Daily Prophet any longer, as we're the owners of the Daily Prophet, and she violated the only rule we gave her, not to enter Hogwarts. That she even did it incognito doesn't make it any better."

Julia nodded. "I know."

"What the Aurors are going to do about her being an unregistered Animagus, I can't tell you. We could ask Amelia. As the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she'll surely know what could happen. I'm honestly sorry for you," he added in a soft voice, "but it really is her own fault, and Sirius has warned her before. Nothing is going to happen to you though, dear."

"What if she can't pay my school fees anymore?" Julia whispered, seemingly horrified. "My father will want me to go back to my old school."

"That won't happen dear," Harry said, reassuringly. "In the worst case, I'm going to pay your school fees," he offered, lightly.

"I really didn't know that she is an Animagus let alone that she was spying on us," Julia said, giving him a worried look. "Do you believe me?"

Harry nodded. "Of course I believe you," he reassured the girl, gently putting his arm around her shoulders, as he led her into the founders' quarters, where everyone was already assembled waiting for him.

HP

"Harry, what happened?" Sirius was the first to ask.

Harry and Julia exchanged a glance, before Julia nodded at Harry.

"We just spent some quiet minutes together," Harry hesitantly began to explain, "when we discovered that Julia's mother was spying on us in her beetle Animagus form. We've often noticed a beetle close by, we just didn't think that it was always the same beetle," he added, sighing. "Let alone that it was a beetle Animagus," he added as an afterthought.

Realising that Julia was close to crying, he continued in a firm voice, "It's not Julia's fault of course, and she didn't know that her mother was a beetle Animagus."

"Of course not," Amelia said in a soft voice.

"Well, it's good that we bought the remaining shares of the Daily Prophet recently," Sirius spoke up. "Let's think about what to do with the Prophet." He rose from his chair. "I'm going to call Cygnus. So far, we always dealt with the Daily Prophet together, and I value his advice."

"Sure," Harry said in approval, following his godfather with his eyes, as the older wizard headed to the fireplace. "Let's sit down," he finally whispered to Julia and gently pulled her over to the sofa, where Susan and Luna quickly made space between them.

"No one is going to think any differently about you, Julia," Luna spoke up in a soft voice, casting her friend a broad smile.

"Thank you, Luna," Julia replied, looking slightly consoled.

_'Amelia, sorry, but could you please send my friends to bed?'_ Harry thought to the headmistress. _'I'd prefer to have this conversation without Julia being here with us.'_

Amelia cast him an unobtrusive nod, before she spoke up in a firm voice. "Susan, Julia and Luna, I believe that it's time for you to go to bed. Harry will inform you about his and Sirius' decision in the morning.

"All right," Susan was the first to agree. "Good night."

To Harry's relief, the others followed swiftly, and by the time Cygnus Greengrass stepped out of the fireplace, all children but Harry were gone.

"Thank you, Amelia," Harry said in a soft voice. "I didn't want Julia to hear how we dismiss her mother, even if she's already aware that it's probably going to happen."

"That was very considerate of you," Miranda commended him, smiling, while Sirius informed Cygnus of the evening's events.

"I think we should dismiss the editor and all the reporters and only keep the technical staff," Sirius began their brainstorming session.

"We could hire new reporters from the seventh-years, who haven't decided yet what to do after Hogwarts," Miranda suggested.

"That's a brilliant idea," Harry decided, "and perhaps we should set up a newspaper group here at the school with students who are interested. If there are any good ones among them, we can hire them out of Hogwarts."

"That would work out," Remus spoke up. "Just from the seventh-years, we could ask Percy Weasley to write for the Politics section, Penelope Clearwater for Social Life aspects, Oliver Wood for Sports and Marcus Flint for Business matters, provided that they're interested. Harry could make some information from the Unspeakables available for printing if possible."

"Of course, sir. Maybe Luna could help the students over the start," Harry added, pensively, "considering that she has already experience with journalism, as she's already writing for the Quibbler."

"Are you going to continue the Daily Prophet?" Minerva enquired with apparent eagerness. "Or what are you going to name a possible new newspaper?"

Harry shrugged. "We should find a new name, but I don't have any idea."

"The Sentinel," Cygnus suggested, causing everyone to stare at him in apparent appreciation.

"That's good," Amelia commended him, simply.

_'Actually, that's what we want,'_ Harry thought. _'The newspaper is going to watch out for the magical world and inform everyone about what they need to know.'_ "I like the name," he agreed in a firm voice.

"We need a proper editor though, who edits the students' reports and makes it a suitable newspaper," Cygnus continued.

"Do you have someone in mind?" Minerva enquired.

Cygnus scratched his head in thought. "In fact… I don't know if he'll agree, but my brother Pius is the editor of The Celtic Courier in Ireland. He has years of experience and surely would be an asset for the Sentinel." He shrugged. "I can't promise anything, but I can ask him if you want me to do so."

"Yes please," Harry said, warmly. "I'm sure he'll be a wonderful choice for us if he agrees. Could you perhaps ask him right away, sir?"

Cygnus nodded and headed to the fireplace, only to return with a bearded wizard in dark green robes. "This is my younger brother Pius," he introduced the man.

To Harry's relief, Pius was not only as friendly as Cygnus, but he also agreed to accept the position.

"As much as I like Ireland, I'd love to come back to England and take over the number one newspaper here," he said in a warm, baritone voice.

"Thank you so much, sir," Harry addressed the wizard, before he could not help letting out a yaw-breaking yawn that made all the witches turn to him in concern.

"Harry, go to bed," Amelia was the first to speak. "We'll discuss this further and inform you in the morning."

Harry nodded and obediently popped himself right into his dormitory, where he got ready for bed and was asleep just a few minutes later.

HP

When the post owls brought the Daily Prophet to their subscribers the following morning, huge gasps came from each of the house tables.

"What?" Harry blurted out, looking at Julia's copy of the newspaper with interest.

The front page of the for once very thin newspaper was covered by a photograph of Pius Greengrass, and the main headline screamed in red letters.

_'The Daily Prophet does not exist anymore.  
We present you our new newspaper,  
The Sentinel.'_

Below Pius' photograph, it continued, _'Harry Potter, the owner of our prestigious newspaper, and his advisors have dismissed the editors and reporters of the former Daily Prophet due to spectacular breach of confidence by their team. The technical staff, however, will continue working for the new "Sentinel". New chief editor is Pius Greengrass, the younger brother of our Lord Cygnus Greengrass. We will present you with the names of our new team during the next few days.'_

_'Read more about the reasons for this big change on page 2. To you, our esteemed readers, we promise that the Sentinel with always provide you with the truth.'_

"How did they manage that so fast?" Susan blurted out, causing the friends to collectively look at the high table, where the members of their extended family were smirking over their copies.

"Sirius called Lord Greengrass, who then contacted his brother, and I'm sure they managed to dismiss the editor and reporters and used the staff to have the Sentinel printed overnight," Harry said, sighing. "The last thing I heard was that Pius Greengrass can only begin working at the Sentinel from January onwards, as he's still employed in Ireland. Therefore, we all need to help writing essays, and maybe he'll at least be able to put the editions together for the rest of the employees to print it until then."

"Harry, I will help," Luna spoke up in a firm voice, casting him a broad smile. "Daddy will surely understand that I need to assist my friend's newspaper for a while."

"Thanks Luna," Harry said, warmly, returning the smile. "We'll speak…" He interrupted himself, when Amelia rose from her chair and addressed the students.

"Dear students, I'm sure you've already read about the new Sentinel. Harry Potter, who is not only the owner of the Sentinel but also of Hogwarts, has decided to replace the former reporters of the Daily Prophet with new and unbiased staff from our midst, which means future graduates and students, who are willing to join our new Newspaper Group. Please consider if you're interested, while you enjoy your day in Hogsmeade. The first meeting of the Newspaper Group will be here in the Great Hall tonight right after dinner. And now off with you." She looked over the house tables before adding, "Ms. Skeeter and Mr. Potter, please join me in my office for a moment."

"It's all right," Harry whispered to Julia, sensing that she had stiffed at Amelia's request. "We'll meet you all for lunch at the Three Broomsticks," he added for his friends to hear, before he gently laid his arm around Julia's shoulders and led her towards Amelia's office.

"Harry, what's going to happen to me?" Julia whispered, looking horrified.

"Nothing's going to happen," Harry replied in a firm voice. "I don't know what Amelia wants. Perhaps it's about your mother's trial or whatever, but . .fear."

"Okay," she said, furiously wiping a tear from her cheek, before Harry gently pulled her into a kiss.

"Julia, Harry," Amelia greeted them, once they entered her office. "I wondered if you perhaps wanted to speak to your father about what happened," she then addressed the girl, causing Julia's eyes to widen in delight.

"I'd love that," she blurted out in apparent excitement, "but won't he be asleep at this time?"

"No," Amelia reassured her. "I already contacted him last night and asked him to be up for a short floo call with you. Go ahead and call him, while Harry and I will wait in the founders' quarters. Just come over, when you're ready, and then I won't keep you any longer from heading to Hogsmeade. Just one thing, Julia, I've taken the liberty to arrange for a house-elf to check your mail, before it's going to be delivered to you. I don't want you to receive any Howlers or hexes because of what your mother did."

"Thank you so much," Harry was the first to respond, giving Julia a confirming nod.

"But the elf?" Julia asked, seeming horrified. "He or she will get injured instead of me then."

Amelia shook her head. "Skinny is a very old elf, and he willingly offered, when I asked for a volunteer. I can introduce you to him sometime, if you want to thank him."

With that, Amelia pulled Harry out of the room, pointing to a small, golden box in a canine form. Floo powder.

HP

Harry could not help pacing the living room of the founders' quarters, while they were waiting for Julia to return from the headmistress' office.

"Harry, sit down and relax," Amelia instructed him. "Julia will be all right, and you're still going to have enough time to enjoy Hogsmeade."

"Yeah," Harry replied, pensively, and obediently sat on the sofa, wondering where everyone else was.

"Sirius has gone to bed after a long night at the office of the Sentinel," Amelia informed him, as if she had been able to read his thoughts, "and Miranda, Minerva and Remus are chaperoning in Hogsmeade."

HP

Only thirty minutes later, Julia emerged from Amelia's office, tear-stricken but smiling.

"Thank you so much for allowing me to chat with my Dad," she said, sounding extremely grateful.

"And thank you for waiting for me," she added in Harry's direction, placing a quick peck on his cheek. "Shall we go?"

"Only if you want to go," Harry replied, giving her a questioning look.

"I want to," Julia replied in determination.

"Have fun," Amelia instructed them before retreating to her office, leaving the two third-years alone.

They swiftly left and headed to the small town, which they already knew quite well from the summer. As soon as they left the Hogwarts grounds, however, Harry began to place blue bugs lights at every empty spot near the main road, causing Julia to cast him a questioning look.

"These are bugs lights," Harry explained to her silent enquiry. "Your mother would feel an urge to look at them, not at us, even if she was in her human form for once. I'm sorry, my dear," he apologized, resolving to place a couple of the bugs lights into the Sentinel's office as soon as possible.

Julia let out a deep sigh. "There's nothing you need to be sorry about, Harry, and I'm all right now after talking to Dad. He told me he's going to come home to Britain at the next opportunity. He was only working abroad because of her work reputation. Now that she's not a reporter of the Daily Prophet anymore, he's going to look for work here. That's why they wanted me to stay with him, you know."

"Yeah, you told me," Harry recalled. "What's your father doing in Brazil?" he then asked, pulling her into a small coffee shop, which was far from the main street and usually not known to students. He was only familiar with it, because Amelia and Sirius had brought him and Susan for refreshments a couple of times.

"He's a professor of Herbology - at a muggle university though. I'm not sure, but I suppose they call it Biology there," Julia replied. "He'd do something else though if it's interesting and has to do with plants."

"Oh well, we could offer him a job as a reporter at any time," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "I don't know if that would be interesting for him. When we get some more staff, he could then specialise on Herbology, and at some stage, he could become Professor Sprout's successor. Sirius told me that she said something about retiring at some stage, I don't know when though. Maybe only in ten years' time."

"Oh Harry, that sounds brilliant," Julia said, happily. "I'll write to him, as soon as we're back at Hogwarts. Now, can we go and buy some sweets for the elf… Skinny was it? The one who checks my mail for me."

Harry nodded, and the two of them thoroughly enjoyed their first date at Hogsmeade.

HP

Rita Skeeter was absolutely annoyed. Not only had the Wizengamot sentenced her to a horrendous fine in her trial for being an unregistered Animagus, but it was none other than Harry Potter who had saved her from having to go to Azkaban for five years. Only due to the fact that he was the owner of Hogwarts, where she had been spying in her beetle form, the members of the Wizengamot had listened to a thirteen-year-old.

_'He was really nice,'_ she thought, as she roamed Kew Gardens in her beetle form. _'I can understand what Julia sees in him.'_ She lingered on the idea of having Harry Potter as her son-in-law sometime in the future, before she turned her thoughts back to reality.

_'What am I going to do now?'_ she wondered. She had seen the front pages of the first five editions of the new Sentinel in a show window in Diagon Alley. If anyone in Great Britain did not know her name in combination with her Animagus form, they had to be completely ignorant persons. _'How am I supposed to find a new job anytime soon?'_

She thoroughly enjoyed the plants in the garden, grateful that she could roam the garden undisturbed and could fill her belly as much as she wanted as a beetle.

_'Still, Potter did not have to tell everyone what he saw. I'm sure Julia would have kept my identity a secret,'_ she thought, completely forgetting that it had been her own fault to transform back right in front of the children.

_'The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,'_ she read from a large sign. _'Beautiful, but still could use some magic.' _To her relief, she had been allowed to keep her wand, which was also due to Harry Potter's statement that she was not dangerous. Nevertheless, as tempting as it was, she did not dare using it to cast magic at the muggle park.

_'One day, I'll get back to Harry Potter for giving me out,'_ she resolved. _'I hope Julia will be over him and have found a better boyfriend by then.'_

While she roamed the huge gardens deep in thoughts, Rita suddenly found herself surrounded by a strange, blue-coloured mist and to her shock and horror realised that it was a muggle insecticide, before she lost consciousness and automatically transformed back into her human form.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much. _

_Do you want Rita to be gone, or would you miss her? I haven't decided on her fate yet - any opinions?_


	21. The Centaurs

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

Arabella Figg was still living across the street from the Dursleys' residence, in spite of the fact that Harry Potter had left his relatives' home a long time ago. Of course, she could have moved away long ago now that Harry was gone, however, the house was so comfortable with a fireplace connected to the floo network and much space for her cats that the old Squib just could not get around to moving.

On this rather cold evening in October, she was spread on the sofa in the living room, surrounded by at least a dozen cats, who were asleep all over her, watching the news on her muggle TV.

All of a sudden, she saw the picture of a woman, whom she recognised immediately. _'What's Rita Skeeter's photograph doing in the muggle news?'_ she wondered and with a click on the remote control increased the sound.

"If anyone knows this woman, please contact St. Caroline's hospital in London…"

Arabella quickly scribbled down the provided telephone number and address, before the display changed to the weather forecast. Feverishly thinking for a moment, she made a bee-line for the fireplace and floo called the headmistress' office at Hogwarts.

HP

Like every evening after the foundation of the Sentinel, the teachers of Harry's extended family along with the seventeen children of the Alliance were gathered in the founders' quarters working on the next edition of the Sentinel. About half of the articles were supplied by the Newspaper group, which consisted of fifteen students through all Hogwarts year groups, the rest was written by the extended family.

All of a sudden, Amelia noticed that there was an incoming floo call at the fireplace in her office and quickly made her way through the connecting door, staring at the fireplace in surprise upon recognising the old Squib.

"Arabella," she said in surprise, as she opened the fireplace. "Come, step through please," she offered. "What can I do for you?" she asked, once the Squib stepped out of the fireplace.

"Ah Amelia, I'm sure you'll be able to help," Arabella greeted her. "I was just watching the muggle news on the TV, when they showed a photograph of Rita Skeeter. Apparently, she was found in a muggle hospital, is unconscious, and they don't know who she is. Could someone please go and help?" She handed Amelia a slip of paper with the name and address of the hospital. "Even if she might be a bitch, she's still one of us."

"I'll check it out," Amelia promised. "Thank you very much for the information."

"Of course, any time," Arabella replied, smiling, before she took her leave.

Amelia remained at her desk pondering the situation for a few minutes, before she made a decision.

"Harry," she called over to the founders' quarters, not wanting to alert the children to the situation let alone Julia. "Thanks for coming," she said to the boy and explained, what Arabella had told him. "Could you go to the Unspeakables and ask them to check what happened and take her to St. Mungo's please – if possible without alerting Julia to the matter."

"Of course," Harry replied in understanding. Summoning his Unspeakable robes from his room, he popped away without further ado.

HP

Harry was lucky to find Arcturus and Tonks in the team room. He quickly informed them about the matter and asked, "Will you please help me?"

"Of course," his two teammates promised, simultaneously, and before Harry had even thought about a plan, Tonks changed her features to look like Julia.

"We're going to go as Harry and Julia and ask about what happened to her, while Ra will take her to St. Mungo's," Tonks suggested.

"A good plan," Arcturus agreed, and the three Unspeakables popped themselves to a spot near the entrance hall of the muggle hospital, where Tonks AKA Julia explained to the staff that the woman, whom they had seen on the TV, was her mother.

HP

Unfortunately, the doctors at the hospital were not able to tell them what had happened to Mrs. Skeeter. They only knew that she had been found in the Kew Gardens and was in a coma.

After a short conversation, Tonks and Harry left and headed straight to St. Mungo's, where Ra had already arrived with the patient. Glad that his team mates seemed inclined to remain until they knew for sure what had happened to the witch, Harry anxiously waited with them. _'Even if I don't like the bitch, she's still Julia's mother,'_ he thought and to a very small extent felt responsible for her fate, as it had been him who had made a point to fire the witch from her position as a reporter at the former prestigious newspaper.

It was already quite late in the evening, when Healer O'Brian, the head healer of the hospital, came to see them.

"It seems that Mrs. Skeeter inhaled much of a muggle insecticide," the healer informed them in a grave voice. "This particular poison is strictly forbidden for inhaling, and we don't know if she'll ever gain consciousness again, nor are we able to foresee the state of her mind if she does. Do you perhaps know why she was in the botanical gardens at Kew?"

"Perhaps because she's a beetle Animagus," Harry blurted out, looking at the healer with apprehension.

"Ah, that explains everything," O'Brian replied, nodding in understanding. "This poison is deadly for insects and probably caused her inner insect to die – and with it her magic. Her magical level seems to be just a little above that of a Squib, at least for the time being. It might still go up over time, however, to which degree we can't foresee. For now, we're going to put her into the room together with the Longbottoms. Whom shall we contact if there's any news?"

Harry stepped forward, glad that Tonks had not pretended to be Julia and instead had changed back into her own form before entering St. Mungo's.

"Please contact me, sir," he offered. "I'm Harry Potter, and Mrs. Skeeter's daughter is a close friend of mine."

Healer O'Brian agreed, and a moment later, Harry thanked his colleagues for their help and popped back to Hogwarts, unsure if he should tell Julia about the matter or rather leave her in the dark for the time being.

HP

However, by the time he returned to Hogwarts, the living room of the founders' quarters was deserted.

_'Where is everyone?'_ he wondered, almost assuming that everyone including the adults had already gone to bed, when he heard something.

"Harry, here, in the Parlour," a snake hissed, and Harry quickly followed the sound into the Parlour, his eyes widening, when he took in the scene in front of him.

Everyone, students and adults of his extended family, was huddled together in their Animagi forms.

=Come on, change and cuddle with us,= the kneazle cat, whom he knew to be Hermione, instructed him.

Harry immediately obeyed and transformed into his griffin form, noticing that everyone quickly made space for him. As soon as he made himself comfortable on the floor, Astoria, the black panther, cuddled into his left side, Hermione, the kneazle, fell against his right chest, Julia, the snake, slithered around his neck, Luna and Fawkes, the phoenixes, relaxed on his stomach, Daphne, the lynx, made herself comfortable on his back feet, and all the other animals slid into the remaining empty spaces to cuddle.

_'Feels good,'_ he thought, as he drifted off to sleep, together with everyone else.

HP

=That was so much fun, we should gather for an Animagus night again soon,= Harry, the griffin, uttered, once everyone was waking up in the morning.

=A wonderful idea,= Hermione agreed, letting out a comfortable sounding meaow, as she stretched her limbs.

"We could hold an Animagus barbeque next to the lake," Luna suggested after transforming back, causing several of their classmates to cheer in apparent excitement.

"Auntie, may we hold an Animagus barbeque out on the grounds?" Susan enquired, giving the headmistress a puppy dog look.

"If the adult Animagi are allowed and won't mind joining you," Amelia replied, smirking, and from her expression, Harry knew that she had enjoyed the night in her bear form as much as everyone else.

"If we really want to hold a barbeque, we should pull through with the plan as quickly as possible," Minerva spoke up, "before it begins to snow."

The children did not need any further encouragement and immediately began to plan their barbeque for the following Saturday enlisting Lisa's and Dobby's assistance.

"We need to catch a zippopede. If you get them to light your barbeque, it's just delicious," Luna said in a dreamy voice, nodding at Julia.

"Luna," Harry asked, trying his best to keep the exasperation out of his voice, "what in the world is a zippopede?"

"It's a kind of dragon, so the snakes would be able to talk to it in Parseltongue and convince it to assist with our barbeque," Luna explained.

"Does that animal really exist?" Astoria enquired, giving her best friend a sharp look.

"Yes," Luna replied, simply.

"Are you sure that we can find the zippopede here in the forest?" Julia enquired, apparently ready to roam the forest together with Fussy and Tussi, the Aesculapian serpents.

"Yes, we just have to search for it, and you need to convince it to help us," Luna reassured her. "If Harry's friend, the basilisk, would be willing to lay an egg for us, we could offer the egg as exchange for the assistance."

"I'll go and ask Amaterasu if she can lay an egg for us," Harry agreed, inwardly groaning, as he was just about to finish his Potions essay.

"I'll accompany you," Julia offered, and – with Fussy and Tussi curled around their necks – the two third-years slowly made their way to Salazar's Chamber of Secrets to speak with the basilisk.

HP

"Harry and Julia," Amaterasu greeted them in clear excitement, "how niccce of you to visssit an old sssnake, even if it'sss not even Sunday."

"Sorry Amaterasssu for only visiting you on Sundaysss," Harry replied, sighing. "We came to asssk you a favour. Would you be willing to lay an egg for usss?" he enquired, only to explain why he needed it.

"You're very welcome to join usss for our Animagusss barbeque," Julia added, smiling at the large snake.

"Zzzzank you," Amaterasu replied, seemingly pleased at the invitation. "Will no one be afraid of me zzzen?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "It'ssss only our friendssss and usss."

HP

On Saturday morning, Sirius, Harry, Julia, Hermione, Luna, Astoria, Susan and Neville made their way into the forbidden forest in their Animagus forms to search for the zippopede – in spite of the fact that none of them knew exactly what the zippopede was supposed to look like.

"When I see it, I'll know," Luna had reassured them, and even if Harry did not have much hope, he found the expenditure enjoyable.

They walked deep into the forest for about twenty minutes, when all of a sudden, two centaurs stood in front of them, pointing spears at the group of Animagi.

"Who are you, and what are you doing in our part of the forest?" one of them asked, turning to Neville in his centaur Animagus form.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but we are students of Hogwarts in our Animagus forms," Neville replied, seemingly frightened. "We're looking for a zippopede. We didn't know that this part of the forest belongs to you. I'm Neville Longbottom."

The centaurs nodded. "If you're students, it's all right," the centaur replied. "We wouldn't hurt children. I am Magorian, the leader of the centaur colony in the forbidden forest, and this is Firenze."

=Harry, transform back, you'll be able to speak with them in your human form,= Sirius addressed his godson, and Harry quickly changed back into his human form.

"Good day, Magorian and Firenze," he addressed the centaurs. "I am Harry Potter, the owner of Hogwarts. We're very sorry to have disturbed you. Is there anything that we can do for you in order to be allowed to pass your part of the forest?"

The two centaurs scoffed, however, at least put their spears away. "What would a group of children be able to do for us?" Magorian enquired.

"Magorian, I've seen this boy in the stars," Firenze spoke up. "He's the destined child to lead the animals of of the black lake and bring peace to the forest. He'll be a good ally for the centaurs."

"Is that so, Firenze?" Magorian asked, seemingly pensive.

"We can offer to assist you if anyone attacks you and yours," Harry offered in lack of a better idea.

"The centaurs shall in turn protect you and your group of animals of the black lake," Magorian promised. "Please follow us to our colony, so we can introduce you to the herd."

Seeing his friends nod their agreement, Harry nodded and motioned Neville to follow the centaurs, while he transformed back into his griffin form.

Ten minutes later, the whole group found itself in the colony, surrounded by the whole herd of centaurs.

'Sirius, please remain in your dog form,' Harry telepathically instructed his godfather, before he asked his friends to transform into their human form. _'Who knows how the centaurs would treat him if they knew that he was an adult,_' he worried.

Suddenly, an idea crossed his mind, and he carefully pulled the basilisk egg out of his robe pocket.

"Excuse me, Magorian, but do you have use for a basilisk egg?" he enquired in a soft voice, causing the centaurs to become so excited that he readied himself to telepathically instruct everyone to transform back and flee.

However, the centaurs were not upset by his offer – rather the opposite. Their leader bowed to Harry and replied, "Young friend, the centaurs gratefully accept your gift. A basilisk egg is about the best gift for a centaur, and we shall use it to have our youngest children enjoy it. Thank you very much, young friend of the centaurs."

"You're very welcome," Harry replied, making a mental note to ask Amaterasu to occasionally give him an egg for the centaurs.

The children observed in amazement how the fairly large egg was divided and fed to the five youngest centaur babies. From the scratching of their hooves on the forest floor, Harry noticed that they appeared to be very happy.

"What were you looking for, when you came into the forest today?" Magorian asked, giving the group a sharp look.

Harry let out a deep sigh, looking at Luna.

"Tonight, we're going to have a barbeque next to the black lake," the girl readily explained, "and knowing that a barbeque is best, when a zippopede lights the fire, we were looking for a zippopede."

"Has anyone ever heard of a zippopede?" Magorian asked his family, however, a collective shake of the other centaurs' heads was their response. "I'm afraid that we can't help with this specific animal; however, we know how to make a fantastic barbeque if you will allow us onto the Hogwarts grounds to assist."

"Thank you so much," Harry replied, torn between accepting and denying.

"We'd be very happy to have your herd join us for our barbeque," Julia replied in his stead.

"Excuse me, Magorian, will you allow me to call my elf, so you can teach him what your family likes to eat?" Harry enquired, inwardly sighing in relief, when the centaurs nodded their agreement.

"Dobby, Lisa," Harry called the two elves and quickly let them in on the situation. "We're going to have centaur guests for our barbeque tonight. Will you please make sure to ask them what they like to eat and prepare our barbeque accordingly?"

"Of course, Dobby and Lisa wills dos as the Great Harry Potter, the saviour of the elves says," Dobby replied, causing everyone to chuckle at the elf's obvious enthusiasm.

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry replied, rolling his eyes at the eager elf. "Magorian, these are Dobby and Lisa. Dobby is my personal house-elf, and Lisa is our Hogwarts elf. Please tell them what you and your family require."

"Harry Potter, the centaurs thank you very much for the invitation," Magorian replied, giving Harry a slight bow of his head, before all other centaurs followed.

"We are looking forward to seeing you," Harry replied, before he left the centaurs' home transforming back into his griffin form as he went.

HP

"You invited the centaurs to our barbeque?" Amelia asked in disbelief upon hearing the whole story.

"Is that a problem?" Harry asked, sheepishly.

"Not necessarily," Amelia replied, pensively.

"They declared friendship with Harry and his group of animals of the black lake," Susan spoke up, grinning.

"The animals of the black lake?" Amelia enquired, giving Harry a sharp look.

"That's what they called us," Harry informed her, matter-of-factly, "although we told them we were the animals of Hogwarts."

"They were extremely friendly and practically adored Harry, after he presented them with one of Amaterasu's eggs," Sirius explained in apparent amusement.

HP

Later the same day, the barbeque was a very enjoyable event. The adults and children changed back and forth between their Animagi forms and their human forms to communicate with the centaurs, the food was delicious, and everyone was happy.

"The centaur children are so cute," Luna whispered to Harry, while she was playing ball with three very small centaurs.

"That they are," Harry whispered back, thinking that Luna looked adorable as she ran around the lake in her yellow one-piece with an all-over pattern of phoenixes.

When the centaurs returned to the forest, Harry suggested, "Shall we have another Animagi night in the Parlour?"

"Yes," came the collective response from animals and humans, and an hour later, the Animagi were once again huddled into each other on the floor of the parlour.

"Good night dears and thanks for providing so much fun for an old woman," they suddenly heard a voice, which caused Harry to chuckle.

=That was Hogwarts,= he informed those who could understand him in his griffin form.

#Harry said that was Hogwarts,# Luna, the ice phoenix, trilled for Lavender, the parrot, to translate for everyone else.

HP

One day, a black raven approached Harry at the breakfast table carrying a small parchment.

Harry's eyes widened upon reading the short message, which was reduced to ash, as soon as he finished reading.

_'Mr. Potter,  
you better not travel to Germany for the Triwizard Tournament. Stay away from the event as far as possible.  
SS.'_

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much. If you have anything you wish to see in the future of this story, please let me know - thank you all and have a nice weekend :)_


	22. The Dragon Boat

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

_'The boy is still going to come in spite of my warning,'_ Severus realised in exasperation upon glancing at the list of guests from Great Britain that Albus showed him while babbling away about charming the Goblet of Fire according to his wishes.

"I'm sorry, Albus, but I fail to understand your reasoning," Severus spoke up wearing his usual blank mask.

"As I told you before, I want the boy's invisibility cloak. If he's chosen as a champion, he needs to attend the event, and I'm going to help him trying to get into his good grades, so that when he wins the tournament, he'll surely lend me the cloak for an hour, which will be enough for my purpose."

_'Of course,'_ Severus realised. _'If the boy willingly hands Albus the cloak, he can claim it as his own – no matter if it's borrowed or received as a gift. Oh well, now that I know what he wants, I can try to prevent it. I'm going to help the boy if he wants my assistance or not,'_ he resolved.

HP

"Amelia," Luna addressed the headmistress, when the extended family was enjoying a quiet evening in the founders' quarters, "who of the sixth-years are going to accompany us to Germany?"

"Accompany you?" Amelia replied, smirking. "I don't know if any of you are even allowed to come. It depends on your end of year tests."

"Auntie," Susan groaned in apparent annoyance. "You know that the seventeen of us are all going to go. We're top of all our classes."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure about that," Sirius spoke up, teasingly.

"Sirius," Harry scolded his godfather, "can't you be serious for once?"

"That's my name but otherwise boring," the Marauder replied, matter-of-factly, causing everyone to roll their eyes.

"We need to teach them to become Animagi over the summer," Luna returned to the topic at hand. "Therefore, we should know who they are."

Amelia smiled at the eccentric girl. "Sure Luna, but do you really think that they want to spend their summer practising the Animagus transformation?"

"It could help the champion for the tournament," Minerva acknowledged, dryly.

"How are you going to teach them in any case?" Amelia enquired. "School's going to be out in two weeks' time."

Harry shrugged. "They could take the floo here once a day, or I could simply make Portkeys for them," he stated. "I won't be here during the day, as I need to work with the Unspeakables. If you need my assistance, they'd have to come at four in the afternoon."

"Harry, that shouldn't be a problem," Hermione spoke up. "We, I mean those who have to go home during the holidays could perhaps take turns joining you for a week each, so that we can assist as well."

"I appreciate your offer, but Susan and Luna are staying here anyway, Astoria and I can come at any time, and Julia will probably be around to assist Professor Scamander, so we should be enough people to teach them, especially if we tell them to come at four, when Harry comes back," Daphne spoke up.

"Still, we'd love to have any of you here," Harry added. "We could have as many Animagi nights as we wish."

"Yeah, that's true. I hope my Dad will still allow me to come to Hogwarts on a daily basis," Julia spoke up, "and maybe even sometimes during the nights if I'm not too much of a bother…" She slowly trailed off.

Harry inwardly sighed. _'Why is she so uncertain?'_ he wondered, gently laying his hand on her right arm. "Of course dear. You're not a bother at all. Everyone can stay for the Animagi nights, and even if you're not in your Animagus form, there are enough bedrooms here in these quarters." In a smaller voice, he added, "We just have to see to it that the headmistress doesn't get wind of this. I hear that she's very strict."

Loud laughter followed this, as everyone knew that as strict Amelia was towards everyone, she had a soft spot for Harry and in extension for his sixteen friends whom he called family.

_'Thank Merlin that Julia's father found a job here in Britain with Pius Greengrass so soon,_' he thought.

Glaring at Harry, Amelia replied to Luna's original question. "Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, Cedric Diggory, Roger Davies, Cassius Warrington, Graham Montague and Patricia Stimpson are going as possible champions, and Fred and George Weasley will accompany them – and yes, I suppose that all of you will be allowed to go. At least, your parents have all given me their consent."

"Could you please ask them to stay behind after breakfast tomorrow, so we can speak to them for a moment?" Luna asked, smiling. "We really need to teach them, so that we won't need beds and can simply sleep on the floor of the ship in case the ghost retirement home is infested by wrackspurts."

"Sure," Amelia replied, sighing.

_'Three months is not much if one wants to become an Animagus,'_ Harry thought, _'even if we were really fast, but we share some kind of magical connection that enabled even the slowest of us to manage the transformation within a year.'_

"Hermione and Luna, would you be willing to assist?" Pandora spoke up. "It would make it easier for them if we brewed the Animagus potion for them, so that they will know what animal to try for, but I'd need two assistants with classes still full in swing."

"Of course," the girls replied, unison.

"Come by my lab tomorrow after the last afternoon class then, and thank you so much," Pandora said, smiling.

"There's something else that each of you needs to learn," Sirius spoke up, looking around the group, only to chuckle, as everyone stared at him in clear expectation.

"What might that be?" Hermione was the first to ask.

"I've already discussed this with your parents, and from Monday through Thursday, you're going to come here at ten o'clock in the morning for an hour to study German. Miranda here is fluent at it and has offered to teach all of us," Sirius explained, causing everyone to stare at each other in apparent delight.

"But I'm going to China with my grandfather," Su Li spoke up, frowning.

"Yes, I know that, and it doesn't matter," Sirius replied soothingly. "If your friends all know the language to a certain extent, there will always be someone near you to translate for you."

"Oh all right," the girl said, looking not too happy about the matter.

"Don't worry, Su," Padma reassured her, putting her arm around her best friend's back. "I'll always be with you."

"So will all of us," Pavarti added, smiling.

"I won't be here either," Harry said, more to himself than to the others.

However, Astoria and Julia, who were sitting on either side of him, had heard his mutterings and quickly reassured him that they were going to teach him in the evenings.

HP

For weeks now, Harry had pondered if he should tell someone about the strange letter, which he had received a while ago. However, only now, when the summer holidays began and the preparations for their year at the Kilian's School for Magic were in full swing, he wondered what it meant.

One day, when he was sitting in team room five with his colleagues, he hesitantly spoke up.

"A few weeks ago, I received a strange letter, which advised me to not go to Germany but keep as far away from the Triwizard Tournament as I could. It was only two sentences, and it turned itself to ash, as soon as I read it. It was signed SS."

"It means that one of us will travel with you," Arcturus said, grumpily. "Let me discuss this with Croaker."

"The only SS I ever knew was Severus Snape," Regulus spoke up, pensively. "I don't know what he's doing now, but I don't suppose that he's in Germany nor that he'd give you a warning, considering that your father and godfather were his arch enemies."

"I've never heard of him," Harry replied, shrugging.

"He was the Potions professor at Hogwarts, before Amelia Bones came and dismissed him together with many others," Tonks informed him, muttering something that sounded like "Good riddance."

_'Be that as it may,'_ Harry thought, knowing that at that time he had been much too preoccupied with things to notice whom of the old professors Amelia had fired. _'All of our teachers now are really good, so I suppose that Amelia did the right thing,'_ he thought, looking up in surprise, when the door was slammed open and Arcturus stormed back into the room.

"I shall accompany you," he growled, giving Harry a confirming nod.

"Thank you sir," Harry replied, smiling at his grumpy great uncle.

HP

When the school year began after an exciting summer, the children just could not wait for their travel to begin.

"We should have gone right at the beginning of the school year and not only in six weeks' time," Lavender complained what everyone else thought.

"I'm sorry, kids, but we're only invited to arrive two weeks before Halloween," Sirius informed them.

"I believe that our nine sixth and seventh years are happy to have some more time to practise their Animagus transformation," Amelia added.

"They're already mostly done with the transformation," Harry informed her. "After Minerva transfigured them into their animal every evening, they're already so used to them that they'll all be able to transform by themselves by the time we board the boat."

"I can't wait to see the boat," Seamus spoke up.

"It would be lovely to test the boat on a small trip this weekend," Luna added, giving Sirius a pleading look.

"We can do that, can't we," Sirius replied, thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's not a bad idea to test it out," Amelia agreed.

"I have an idea," Pandora piped up.

Pandora, Amelia and Sirius conferred in small voices for two minutes, before Sirius spoke up.

"Very well, we're going to have a small excursion for those of you who are willing to assist harvesting potions ingredients on Sunday," he announced, looking over the group.

Everyone nodded and, letting his eyes wander over the group of his friends for a moment, Harry decided, "We'll all go."

"Where are we going to go?" Hermione asked in clear excitement.

"To a small island in the north of Scotland," Pandora explained. "It's called Inis Rún. A friend of mine, Healer O'Brien, lives in Bally Sideways, the main village of the city, and she has been inviting me for a while now to harvest jellygrapes. They're a very powerful potions ingredient, and I've been wanting to go there and harvest some for ages now."

"We'll all assist," Luna promised, smiling at her mother.

HP

_'I wonder what the boat looks like and why Sirius is so secretive about it,'_ Harry thought, when he followed his friends down to the spot below Hogwarts, where the school boats were anchored during the school year.

Upon seeing the boat, the whole group stopped dead in their tracks. It looked like a green dragon.

"A dragon?" Astoria spoke up in disbelief.

"It's a dragon boat," Sirius corrected her, smirking. "The best thing about it is that it can swim like a normal boat, but also hoover like a muggle hovercraft ship. Now are you going to remain outside and stare at it, or do you want to board it and travel?"

_'How are we going to fit into that thing?'_ Harry wondered, however, observed in amazement how his friends vanished one by one into the dragon's mouth. Only when he hesitantly followed Julia into the mouth of the dragon could he see how large the ship was, in fact, inside.

There was a comfortable looking living room with sofas and chairs built around a fireplace followed by a small kitchen on the left and a storage room on the right as well as two classrooms on both sides of the boat, and at the other end, the children found a simple, large room that was equipped with a tatami floor. _'For the Animagi nights and in case we don't want to stay at that ghost holiday place,'_ Harry realised.

"This is absolutely gorgeous," Hermione was the first to voice her opinion.

Everyone agreed, still looking around, when Luna suddenly pointed out that they had already left the lake and were just about to head out into the sea.

Five minutes later, they reached the sandy beach of Inis Rún and – much to their disappointment – had to get off the boat.

"I love it," Harry said to Sirius. "Is it difficult to drive?"

"No, it's a couple of spells to drive or hover, anchor or whatever," his godfather replied, smirking. "All the adults who accompany us know the spells, so that you needn't concern yourself with them. You can just relax and have us do the work for once."

HP

While Inis Rún was a beautiful, small island and they had fun swimming into small holes between large rocks to harvest jellygrapes, the children could not wait to return to their boat.

_'I wonder how long it's going to take us to travel to Germany, when we arrived here in less than fifteen minutes,'_ Harry thought, as he studied the scenery on the island.

"It'll take about two hours," Sirius informed him, when he asked him later on. "I'm glad I manged to finish the boat. Dobby helped me a lot. He's really good."

"Dobby helped you?" Harry enquired in surprise. "He never said a word about it."

Sirius smirked. "That was a deal between him and me," he replied, teasingly.

"Anyway, I love the boat, and I don't think that I'm going to sleep anywhere else but in the tatami room, when we're in Germany," Harry decided, grinning broadly.

"I might be going to join you. I sleep best in my canine form," Sirius agreed.

_'It's so comforting with all the other animals around me,'_ Harry thought, looking forward to spending some more time on the boat that his godfather had constructed.

HP

After a seemingly long wait, the evening of the fourteenth of October arrived, and the extended family spent the evening together in the founders' quarters as usual.

"Harry," Julia addressed him in a small voice, causing him to look at the girl, alert.

"Julia, what's wrong?" he asked in concern, noticing that she looked very pale and unhappy.

"Perhaps I should better stay here," Julia voiced what had been on her mind the last few days. "You know, Mum is still in a coma, but what if she wakes up during the next eight months and I'm not here? She's going to need me."

Harry's expression turned to shock, but before Julia could say anything else, Amelia, who had apparently heard their conversation, spoke up.

"Then your father will be here for her," she said in a soft voice. "If you were at Hogwarts, you wouldn't be able to help her anyway, and if it's really necessary we'll be able to take you home at any time. Don't worry about it now. I'm sure your father will keep you updated."

"I've told Healer O'Brian that I'm going to be in Germany until the end of the school year and that he should contact your father if there's any change," Harry added in a soothing voice.

"Thanks," Julia replied, somehow feeling very much consoled by Amelia's and Harry's words. _'I'm so much looking forward to the travel; I wouldn't want to miss it,'_ she thought in relief.

"By the way, Julia," Amelia spoke up, smiling, "Professor Sprout expressed the wish to retire at the end of the school year, and I've offered to your father to become our Herbology professor. Just this morning, he has already accepted the position."

Julia's eyes widened, while she felt absolutely ecstatic at the idea. "Is that really true?" she asked in disbelief, looking at Harry.

Harry chuckled. "If Amelia says so, it must be true," he replied, gently pulling her into a light hug. "I'm very happy for you."

_'Me too,'_ Julia thought in delight. _'That's great news.'_

"Is he still going to work for the Sentinel?" Harry enquired.

"He will," Amelia reassured him, "and he also promised to lead the newspaper group at Hogwarts."

"Oh, that's good," Harry replied, smiling.

_'I can't believe it,'_ Julia thought, happily. _'When we come back, Dad's going to live at Hogwarts with us. How cool is that?'_

HP

After breakfast the following morning that involved a huge good-bye from the whole school, the group that was going to travel to the Kilian's School for Magic for the Triwizard tournament boarded the boat.

The elves quickly put all the luggage into the storage room, before they served tea and biscuits in the living room for everyone to enjoy.

While they followed the British coast, they felt like in a real boat; however, as soon as they crossed the channel, Sirius made the boat hover in order to prevent them from getting seasick. They travelled along the river Rhine and the smaller river Main, and too soon for Harry's liking, Sirius announced that they were going to arrive at their destination in five minutes' time.

HP

As soon as the boat had anchored in a small boat parking spot that was hidden from muggles and right next to the school, everyone began to get off, and huge applause came from the waiting students at the obviously unexpected sight.

A brown bear and a grim led the group along the path towards the school building that was lined by welcoming students.

A griffin followed them with three owls, four cats and two meerkats sitting on its back and a snake draped around its neck.

A wolf, a black panther, a lynx, a hedgehog, an otter and several more animals followed, before a centaur formed the end with three parrots riding on its back.

The group came to a halt in front of what had to be Headmaster Hehl in front of a large, futuristic looking building in a light blue colour.

"Now this was an unexpected but nevertheless fantastic arrival," the old wizard greeted them. "Welcome to the Kilian's School for Magic in Würzburg, Germany. I hope you're going to have a wonderful time here with us at our school."

During the ten seconds following the headmaster's greetings, the whole group transformed back into their human forms, and Amelia greeted the headmaster as well as the welcome committee of students.

"Thank you so very much for the invitation and for having us here for the next eight months. We're very much looking forward to observing an exciting Triwizard Tournament," Amelia added to huge applause from the students and the group from Beauxbatons who had already arrived and were standing next to them.

"Oh Merlin, Professor Hehl has to be even older than Professor Scamander," Julia whispered to Harry, who nodded in agreement, smiling at the girl.

"Harry," Astoria whispered to him, "please stay away from the Veelas."

Harry looked at the girl in confusion. "What about the Veelas?" he asked with curiosity.

Luna chuckled. "Ah Tori, Harry's immune against the Veelas," she replied, airily.

_'What?'_ Harry wondered, however, they became distracted, when they were led into the school.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much. If you wish to see some photographs of St. Kilian's School for Magic and the mentioned places of this story, please join my Facebook group. The link is on my profile page. Let's see how different the Triwizard Tournament is going to be at the Kilian's School for Magic..._


	23. The Kilian's School for Magic

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

The entrance hall of the Kilian's School for Magic had a futuristic flair just matching the building's outside appearance. It was equipped with many comfortable looking chairs and sofas and completely surrounded by windows.

The most interesting point for the children, however, was something else. Right opposite of the entrance doors was some kind of platform. It was a simple part of the floor standing out from the rest of the room by its emerald green tiles. They were instructed to step onto it, and a girl of the Kilian's school said, "Fourth floor."

An instant later, the platform moved upwards, only to stop again a short while later.

"Please get out now; here's the atrium," the girl informed them, and the group eagerly left the strange elevator.

"That was totally cool," Lavender blurted out.

"Much better than the moving staircases," Pavarti agreed.

"… and faster," Padma added in apparent fascination.

'_Maybe we should modernize Hogwarts some,_' Harry thought, _'and install such a thing at one or two points.' _However, he became distracted, when they entered the Atrium.

The room rivalled the Great Hall in size. It was equipped with many small tables, each of them surrounded by eight chairs, however, most impressive was the fact that it did not have solid walls but was surrounded by glass that allowed a terrific view onto the vineyards, the river and a castle on top of a mountain.

"That must be the ghost retirement home," Hermione whispered to him, and Harry nodded in understanding.

The group quickly followed everyone else's example and occupied the nearest tables, noticing that they had to split into groups of four, as each table was already occupied by four local students. _'Oh well, it makes sense to mingle with the other students. I wonder how so many people were able to get here at the same time though,_' Harry thought, when he recalled that their whole group of thirty people plus their guide had fit onto the platform at once. _'Oh well, magic,'_ he realised, inwardly sighing, just when Daphne let out a hiss that caused the whole group to look at her in surprise.

"Dumbledore," Daphne whispered, pointing towards what seemed to be the front of the hall, where Amelia, Miranda, Remus, Sirius and Arcturus were sitting with the teachers.

_'That's why I received the warning to not come here,'_ Harry thought in annoyance. _'We should have completely withdrawn our participation after that, even if we don't know who was so kind as to send the warning.'_

HP

Anton Hehl rose from his chair. "Welcome to the Kilian's School for Magic. We're happy that our guests from Beauxbatons and Hogwarts arrived this morning for what we hope will be an interesting and enjoyable Triwizard Tournament."

His announcement was met with huge applause from all over the atrium.

"Professor Albus Dumbledore, our deputy headmaster, is responsible for the Triwizard Tournament, and he will now explain how we are going to proceed," the headmaster informed them, before he took his seat, and none other than Albus Dumbledore stood up.

_'I can't believe it,'_ Amelia thought, angrily.

"Headmaster Hehl," she addressed the wizard, who was sitting on her right side, "are you not aware of the fact that Dumbledore is a wanted criminal in Great Britain?"

The headmaster looked at her, wide-eyed.

"No, Professor Bones, I was not aware of the matter. He is a member of the international confederation of wizards," he replied, matter-of-factly.

Amelia let out a deep sigh. "Yes, because that's the only position we forgot to take from him." She remained pensive for a moment before adding, "I must speak with my colleagues and students to decide if – under these circumstances – we are still going to participate in the tournament."

Hehl stared at her in what seemed to be shock. "Professor Bones, please don't hold Dumbledore's misdeeds, whatever they were, against all of us."

"I need to speak with the rest of the delegation from Hogwarts," Amelia insisted. "I shall inform you, as soon as we have made a decision."

As soon as Dumbledore had finished his explanations, which she had completely missed but knew that the others would inform her afterwards, Amelia strode towards the tables, where her students were sitting.

"Right after lunch, we're going to return to our boat. We have something important to discuss," she announced, noticing that everyone nodded in understanding, before she returned to sit beside her German colleague.

HP

"A few weeks ago, I received a letter from someone warning me to stay away from the tournament," Harry admitted, once they were seated in the tatami room on the ship.

"And you did not inform us of the matter exactly why?" Amelia enquired, her forehead drawn into a frown.

"Because no one knew who SS was, but that was the reason why Ra joined us," Harry replied, sheepishly.

"SS?" Amelia enquired, incredulously.

"Snivellus," Sirius growled, "the fu…"

"Sirius!" Amelia admonished him, sharply.

"Snivellus?" Harry asked in surprise. "Am I supposed to know him?"

"Severus Snape," Miranda supplied, sighing. "Is he here?"

Amelia shrugged. "Not to my knowledge," she admitted. "I haven't heard from him, since I dismissed him from Hogwarts."

"I think we should stay," Harry voiced his opinion, before Amelia could even ask. "We owe it to those who wish to participate."

"If anyone is in danger from Dumbledore, it's Harry, and when he finds it all right to stay, we should do so," Astoria commented, when Amelia looked around to assess everyone's opinion.

Everyone seemed to agree, and the decision was made.

HP

At dinner in the atrium, Amelia informed the headmaster. "Headmaster Hehl, we will stay, however, please instruct Dumbledore to stay away from our students."

"I will," Hehl promised, "however, he is responsible for the tournament and as such will have to get in contact at least with the champions."

"Please cut this contact to a minimum, as far as it concerns students from Hogwarts," Amelia requested, her mouth stretched to a thin line.

"I'll do my best, Headmistress Bones," Anton Hehl promised.

"Headmaster, please allow me one question," Sirius spoke up, giving the wizard on Amelia's right side a sharp look.

"Certainly, Professor Black," Hehl replied, smiling.

"Are you by chance also employing one Severus Snape at your school?" Sirius enquired.

The headmaster's eyes widened in apparent surprise. "Professor Snape is the Potions master at our school," he admitted. "Excuse me, but why are you asking?"

"Because he is a former Hogwarts professor as well," Amelia cut in, "and he was noble enough to warn Harry Potter, the owner of Hogwarts, to stay away from the tournament – unfortunately, without giving a reason, so that his warning fell on deaf ears I'm afraid.

"Why would Professor Snape do such a thing?" Hehl wondered, however, shrugged and returned his attention to the dinner in front of him.

_'That's interesting,'_ Amelia thought. _'Why would he warn Harry in spite of the fact that we kicked him out of Hogwarts and that he obviously followed Albus here?'_

_'Too bad that we can't simply arrest Albus here,' she thought, 'considering that the place is under German legislation and not British. Otherwise, I'd simply call Alastor and have him arrest him.' Inwardly rolling her eyes at herself, she corrected herself, 'Ra could just take him to Azkaban, considering that he was already sentenced.'_

HP

After dinner, the Hogwarts group returned to their boat, and Amelia informed the students about her conversation with Anton Hehl.

"Now, do you wish to go to the South European Ghost Holiday and Retirement Home for the night?" she then asked.

As expected, a collective head shaking began, causing her to smirk.

"We'll just have a year of Animagi nights," Luna voiced everyone's thoughts.

_'I wonder what Arcturus' Animagus form is,'_ Harry thought, having always wondered about his team mates' forms. Surprisingly, he had never got around to ask any of them. '_I should have seen him earlier,'_ he thought, _'when we left the boat, because I was much too distracted by the modern looking school. It seems quite interesting.'_

Only after everyone went to bed, he realised that a black eagle had joined them, which had never been there before.

_'A black eagle,'_ he mused, looking at the large bird in admiration, _'that's totally fitting for him.'_ With that, he made himself comfortable on the tatami with the familiar animals cuddled against him. Through the roof, which was transparent from the inside, he could see the Ghost Holiday and Retirement Home on top of the mountain and resolved to at least visit it once. _'The view from there must be marvellous,'_ he thought, before the other animals' light snoring lulled him into sleep.

HP

During the next two weeks, tension was high, as each of the older students hoped to become the champion. The Hogwarts students had classes on the boat during the mornings and afternoons. Only at mealtimes, they all entered the Kilian's School for Magic and enjoyed breakfast, lunch and dinner together with the German students as well as the guests from Beauxbatons.

Only on the thirtieth of October, however, Dumbledore explained that everyone, who wanted to participate in the tournament, had to put a parchment into the Goblet of Fire stating their name along with the name of their school.

"Until dinner time tomorrow, which is in about thirty hours, the Goblet of Fire will be displayed in the entrance hall," Dumbledore explained, showing the magical artefact for everyone to see. "Please note that only students above the age of seventeen will be able to put their name in."

"That remains…"

"… to be seen," the twins cheered in apparent excitement, causing the children of the Alliance to laugh in expectation.

_'I wonder what they're going to try,'_ Harry thought in amusement, certain that the energetic twins would not simply give up.

HP

After dinner, the friends worked on their homework, before they used the remaining time of their free evening to write their articles for the Sentinel. Around curfew, Fawkes then took their parchments to Pius Greengrass for the following morning's edition.

In return, Fawkes received one copy of the day's edition of the Sentinel, before he made a short detour to the headmistress' office at Hogwarts to deliver possible letters and collect any letters for the group in Germany. Finally, he flashed back to the boat to join the Animagi for the night. During the day, the mischievous phoenix spent his time playing with nearby seagulls.

However, Fawkes was not the students' and teachers' sole connection to their home country. Every Wednesday evening, Arcturus and Harry popped over to the Unspeakables' rooms to attend their staff meeting just like Harry always used to do during the school year.

HP

_'I still can't believe that Albus is the deputy headmaster of the Kilian's School for Magic,_' Minerva thought, as she stared at the newest edition of the Sentinel, where a photo of the old wizard carrying the Goblet of Fire was occupying the front page. _'Too bad that the Aurors can't simply arrest him. If I had known that in advance, I'd have talked Harry out of going.'_

From Amelia, she had been informed that Severus Snape was also working at the school, however, that they had not met him yet, as he was not teaching classes but merely working as a Potions master and as such did not attend the meals with everyone else.

_'It was clear that he'd follow Albus to wherever he'd go,'_ Minerva thought in annoyance. _'It's good for Severus though that he can concentrate on the brewing of potions and doesn't have to teach students though. While brilliant in his field, he was really incompetent as a teacher.'_

HP

Before lunch, the seventh-years went to put their names into the goblet, closely followed by the twins.

"I'll have to see that," Astoria shouted and quickly ran after the redheads with her friends on her heels.

To everyone's surprise, the two parchments, which the twins put into the goblet accompanied by a celebratory display of antics, did not remain in the goblet. Immediately after being put in, they came out again knocking against the twins' heads and causing them to look like old wizards.

"Now that's ridiculous…"

"… if they age us up…"

"… they should at least…"

"… let us participate," the twins complained, staring at each other in obvious amusement.

Everyone else just shook their heads at their predicament, chuckling with combinations of amusement and exasperation.

"I'm glad that you're not able to participate," Hermione spoke up in a firm voice. "It's much too dangerous."

"Just imagine one of you participated and died in the tournament," Julia added, causing the twins to stare at her in apparent horror.

"You can't deny that you deserved your new looks," Remus stated, grinning, when the group returned to the boat for their afternoon classes.

"Please tell us…"

"… that they're going to wear off…"

"… sometime soon," the twins groaned in apparent annoyance.

"That remains to be seen, Messrs. Weasley," Amelia replied, dryly, causing everyone else to chuckle.

HP

"Who do you think is going to become Hogwarts' champion?" Lavender asked, when the friends spent the hour between the last afternoon class and dinner on the shore of the river.

"Cedric will make a brilliant champion," Luna replied, airily, once again making her friends wonder if she was a seer.

_'As long as none of our names comes out of the goblet, I don't mind,_' Harry thought, as he proceeded to transform into his pink cuddly bear form, glad that the school grounds were invisible to muggles.

_'Thank Merlin the goblet is going to decide on the champions tonight,'_ he thought in relief, as they made their way to the atrium for dinner. '_I can't hear the 'Who's going to be champion?' discussions anymore. Why would anyone want to participate in the tournament, which was cancelled centuries ago because of the death toll, anyway?'_

HP

When they entered the atrium, the Goblet of Fire was sitting on a table in the centre of the large room.

However, only when everyone had finished their deserts, Dumbledore activated the artefact to spit out the names of the three champions.

Everyone stared at the artefact in absolute silence, when the first small parchment was spat out.

"Fleur Delacour," Dumbledore read from the parchment, and huge cheers emerged from the corner, where the Beauxbatons group was sitting. "Please join me here together with your headmistress," he added, pointing to a coup of chairs next to the head table.

Two minutes later, the old wizard read, "Cedric Diggory," and this time, huge applause came from the Hogwarts group and those who were sharing their tables.

Together with Amelia, Cedric headed to the front to take a seat next to Fleur.

Shortly later, Dumbledore caught the third parchment and called Erik Maier to the front.

Harry and his friends relaxed. "Thank Merlin, that's over," Daphne sighed, causing everyone else to laugh in agreement.

However, all of a sudden, the goblet spat out another parchment that made Harry inwardly groan in annoyance. _'This is not supposed to happen,'_ he thought, grimly. He was not even surprised, when Dumbledore called his name.

"Harry Potter."

'_No,_' Harry thought. _'No; it's not possible.' _

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore called again, however, Harry decided to ignore the old wizard.

"Harry, that's you," Hermione spoke up, giving him a pitying look.

"Mr. Potter, please join us here," Dumbledore instructed him.

However, before Harry could decide what to do, Sirius rose from the head table.

"Harry did not put his name into the goblet," he said in a firm voice.

"Since the goblet chose his name though, I am afraid that a magical contract was made," Anton Hehl spoke up, calmly.

"Zis is not funny," the Beaxbatons headmistress said, loudly. "Why should 'Ogwarts 'ave two champions? Dat's unfair. If 'Ogwarts 'as two champions, we want to 'ave two as well."

"If a magical contract is broken, the person breaking the contract will lose their magic if not worse," the German minister for magical sports spoke up.

'Arcturus,' Harry urgently thought to his colleague, 'who is the one breaking the contract, me or the person who put my name in?'

'I am sure that must be the person who put your name in,' Arcturus replied, calmly.

'All right. Thanks,' Harry replied and slowly made his way over to where Dumbledore was still calling his name.

The discussion between the headmasters and the champions as well as Harry lasted until late in the evening in spite of the fact that Harry refused to participate right from the beginning.

"Young man, you will lose your magic if not your life if you don't fulfil the contract made with the goblet," Anton Hehl warned him, giving him a look that displayed genuine concern.

"No, I will not," Harry contradicted in a firm voice that did not show his uncertainty.

"We'll meet once again tomorrow morning after breakfast," Dumbledore decided.

"That will be without me then," Harry replied, before he followed Amelia and Cedric back to their boat. "I bet Dumbledore put my name in," he growled in annoyance, already transforming into his griffin form as he went.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much._


	24. The Franconian Fairy Fizzle

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

Apart from Cedric, who spent much time in the library of the Kilian's School trying to prepare himself for the first task, even if the champions did not have a clue what it was going to be about, the others had not much to do with the Triwizard Tournament. They had their usual classes on the boat. The first task was only going to take place at the end of November after all.

One morning at breakfast, Harry was invited for the wand weighing ceremony; however, refused, as he had no intention of participating in the tournament.

Luna decided to accompany Cedric Diggory to the room – of course not to have anything done to her wand, but to be able to write a short article about the ceremony for the Quibbler and the Sentinel.

The wand maker was a gentle, elder witch, and Luna spoke with her for a while, after the ceremony was over.

"She told me that there's a magical shopping centre here in Würzburg," she informed the others with apparent enthusiasm, causing everyone to stare at her in obvious excitement.

"Oh, may we go there on Saturday?" several girls asked, simultaneously, making Harry roll his eyes in annoyance.

_'Isn't it enough that we're allowed to go into the muggle centre of Würzburg every Saturday?'_ he thought, unable to understand how the girls could spend hours in the clothes shops trying this and that without getting tired of it. _'Oh well, a magical shopping centre might be more interesting though,'_ he realised. _'Maybe they have a Quidditch shop or some other shop, which we don't have at Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.'_

"We can go there on Saturday," Amelia announced after shortly conferring with her colleagues.

"I'm going to get a second wand, which doesn't have the trace on it," Luna announced, dreamily looking at the mountain, where the ghost holiday home was only partly visible in the fog.

While Amelia glared daggers at the girl, the children cheered.

"Then I could do magic at home," Hermione blurted out in apparent excitement. "Oh Luna, me too," she decided.

"Wait a moment," Sirius spoke up, letting out a deep sigh. "What tells you that the wands here don't have a trace with the German Ministry of Magic that recognises under-age magic?"

Luna shrugged. "I just know. They don't seem as infected with wrackspurts as the British Ministry of Magic."

"Oh, but if they have a trace, it'll be worse than our own, as even in the magical world, witches and wizards are only of age, when they turn eighteen here, not seventeen like in Britain," Julia informed them.

"Julia, are you sure?" Susan asked, seemingly horrified.

"Yes, the girls who were sitting with me at lunchtime told me as much," Julia confirmed, grimly.

"We'll just ask the wand maker," Neville spoke up in apparent determination.

_'Well, I'm an adult anyway, and my wand is probably the strongest that I could get,'_ Harry thought. _'Maybe it would still be nice to have a spare wand.'_

"Ra," he addressed his colleague in a small voice. "Should I get a spare wand?"

The old wizard nodded. "Even if it probably won't be as powerful as your normal wand, it's always good to have a spare one, and since the wand selects the wizard, only a very powerful one will come to you if at all," he advised him. "If you wish, we could take a griffin feather with us to have a wand made for you."

"All right, then I'm going to buy a wand, too," Harry decided. _'If no powerful wand finds me, I can still have one made using a griffin feather,'_ he thought in determination.

HP

On Saturday morning, the group from Hogwarts went for a fifteen-minute walk to the magical shopping centre, with Bernd Becker, the head boy of the Kilan's School for Magic, as their guide.

"The Franconian Fairy Centre is right behind this barrier," Bernd informed them, causing everyone to stare at the head boy in disbelief.

_'It just looks like a forest,'_ Harry thought, as he followed the group through the barrier.

However, all of a sudden, their surroundings changed to what indeed seemed to be a narrow shopping street with small houses on both sides of the road. _'Somehow, like Diagon Alley,_' he thought, looking around with interest.

"The main speciality, which you can't buy anywhere else in the world," Bernd informed them, "is the Franconian Fairy Fizzle."

"The Franconian Fairy Fizzle," Hermione repeated, sounding incredulous.

"Yes," Bernd confirmed. "This area is famous for red wine, even in the muggle world, and our magical community has this speciality. It's a red wine, however, it is magically enhanced."

He led the group into a large shop, which seemed to sell nothing but one kind of small wine bottle with a red liquid inside.

"The form of the bottle is typical for the region, even in the muggle world. The fizzle has less alcohol than normal, muggle red wine; however, each bottle has its own magical speciality," he explained, while everyone was hanging on his lips.

"It varies, however, and if you see a bottle, you don't know what its speciality is. It can, for example, give you nice dreams, good luck, huge magical powers or whatever. It wears off after twenty-four hours at the latest.

"There's one problem with it though," he warned them in a strict voice. "It's very important that you do not drink more than one bottle in a month. Otherwise, the effect will become the contrary, and people can really suffer by the overdose. Please keep this in mind."

Harry eyed the small bottles with interest. "Let me buy one bottle for each of us," he told Bernd, and the two boys went to buy thirty bottles and an assortment of bread and cheese that Bernd recommended.

After everyone received a bottle, they made themselves comfortable around a large table in the shop's garden, uncorked their bottles and sipped the tasty wine, which was very fruity.

"They all taste the same," Bernd informed them, "independently of their effect."

"It's delicious though," Luna spoke up, as she selected a piece of goat cheese.

"Absolutely," some of the girls confirmed, simultaneously.

"Did I understand you correctly," Julia spoke up, "that it won't have bad effects unless you overuse it?"

"Exactly," Bernd confirmed, smiling.

_'If the effects are really good, we can come back and buy some bottles for the other Unspeakables for Christmas, and perhaps also for the teachers and the heads of the houses,'_ Harry resolved.

"Perhaps we should not make this public in the Sentinel or the Quibbler," Remus spoke up, pensively. "It might give us an advantage over the pureblood fanatics at home."

Everyone agreed, and when Harry suggested to come back at the beginning of December and buy some as Christmas presents, his friends nodded with apparent enthusiasm.

After a short tour through the Franconian Fairy Centre, Bernd excused himself, and the group split into five smaller groups.

Together with Ra, Luna, Hermione, Julia and the Weasley twins, Harry headed straight to the wand shop, where they spent the following hour deciding on their second wands.

After trying out several wands over twenty-five minutes, Harry finally gave up and asked the wand maker what kind of wand she could make for him using a griffin feather.

"You could also use a few drops of my blood," Ra offered, informing the old witch that Harry's first wand also contained his blood in addition to a phoenix feather, basilisk skin and lichens from Hogwarts' roof.

"I could make a matching wand here," she old witch blurted out in apparent excitement. "I think I've got some lichens from the roof of the Kilian's School for Magic. You're very lucky, as they're extremely rare and can only be harvested once in about a decade. That in combination with your feather and blood would make a powerful wand."

"No Harry, wait," Julia suddenly spoke up, as she produced two small phials from her robe pocket. "Use this in combination with your griffin feather," she offered, handing him one of the phials. "It's venom from the Aesculapian serpents," she explained, grinning broadly.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise and, seeing that the wand maker cast him a questioning look, he agreed in excitement. "Yes please," he confirmed.

Turning to Julia, he said, "Wait Julia, I'm going to shed a griffin feather for you, so you can ask for a similar wand."

In the end, Julia had the same wand made with the only difference to Harry's being that his wand contained Arcturus' blood, while Julia's used Harry's. They finally ordered their wands and were told to come back in a week's time.

"So you've got matching wands," Hermione stated in apparent disbelief.

"They'll work for both of them," Luna added, smiling happily.

HP

During the rest of the weekend, the children spent much time discussing the after effects of the Franconian Fairy Fizzle. Not everyone was sure what the effect had been. In Harry's case, he was certain that it was an effect of the wine that he had been able to change into a fire phoenix like Fawkes, when his familiar convinced him to try the transformation and accompany him for a flight to the nearby mountain. While he was happy with his griffin form and his ability to fly in such, he could not help admitting that it had been fun to travel together with Fawkes.

Hermione had seen dreams about taking her NEWTs with best grades and becoming a professor at Hogwarts. Harry could not help smirking, as his friend admitted to the dream.

Julia had dreamed about owning a second-hand bookshop at Hogsmeade while being the Care for Magical Creatures professor at the same time.

"Good luck with that," Susan chuckled, causing Julia to cast her an indignant look.

"Julia will manage," Luna replied, smiling dreamily, before she admitted that she had found a rare, magical creature on the shore of the river. "It'll be in the Quibbler next week," she said, seemingly happy.

HP

Two weeks later, the first task of the Triwizard Tournament took place, and right after breakfast, the Hogwarts group headed out onto the grounds to watch what they hoped to be a spectacle of interest.

Huge stands had been erected around a large area, which was surrounded by a fence. There were two openings in the fence each leading straight into a small tent.

Astoria stared at the tents in confusion. _'I wonder what's in them,'_ she thought, realising that one of them probably held the animal or whatever it was that the champions were going to face, while the other had to be the entrance for the champions.

_'Thank Merlin Harry doesn't have to participate,'_ she thought, looking around their group only to realise that a certain boy with messy black hair and emerald eyes was missing.

"Where's Harry?" she asked Daphne and Hermione, who were sitting on each side of her.

"Julia and Luna went into the tent to interview the champions," Hermione replied, smiling. "Perhaps Harry accompanied them."

"Oh right, we need to publish something about the first task in the Sentinel tomorrow," Daphne recalled, causing Astoria to nod in understanding.

"And in the Quibbler," the girl added, smiling.

HP

Together with Luna, Julia and the other champions, Harry entered the tent.

_'Why am I going to participate in this?'_ he asked himself. However, he could not come up with a reason. He merely knew that he was going to participate.

As Fleur had been the first name, which the Goblet of Fire had chosen, she walked out of the tent first, and Harry remained together with Cedric and Erik.

HP

"Harry's going to participate," Julia informed her friends in an upset voice, as she took a seat between the Greengrass sisters. "I thought he said he wouldn't."

"Harry's in the tent?" Amelia enquired, alert.

"Yes, he seems to be possessed by wrackspurts," Luna said, matter-of-factly. "He's been behaving strangely since last night. Did no one notice?"

"I thought, he was a bit irritated," Susan admitted, "but I thought it was about the Arithmancy essay that Sirius issued."

"I don't think so," Hermione uttered, shaking her head. "He's already done with that one."

"I just hope he'll be all right," Julia said, more to herself than to the others. "He shouldn't participate. Even Ra said he didn't have to."

"He didn't intend to participate," Sirius insisted. "I just hope Dumbledore didn't do anything to make him change his decision."

The group became distracted, when Fleur came out of the tent, while a large commotion began on the other side of the area within the fence.

A huge group of small dogs came running into the area, causing everyone to stare at the place with bewilderment.

"They look like Jack Russel terriers," Hermione spoke up in confusion, "but why so many?"

"They're crups," Julia informed her, "the magical form of Jack Russels."

Dumbledore and the German minister for magical sports as the organisers stood on one of the stands, and Dumbledore announced, "These are crups, magical dogs. Now, our champion's task is to find the one with the blue tongue and ask him for a ball. It is important that you receive the ball, as it will give you a hint for the second task. You have one hour."

The children observed, worriedly, how the French champion feverishly tried to cast spell after spell – _'Probably stunning spells,'_ Julia thought – at the dogs, however, to no avail. They were just too fast and intelligent to let themselves be caught by a simple spell.

After Fleur seemed to have gotten on the dogs' nerves enough, they began to attack her, and after a couple of bites, Dumbledore blew a whistle, which made the caretakers of the dogs surround them and return them to their tent.

At the same time, Dumbledore entered the area through a door in the fence, which had been invisible before, and led Fleur back into the school building.

"Poor Fleur," Hermione spoke up. "She's really nice."

"That's true," Susan agreed.

"Harry will do better," Luna said, confidently, causing the others to cast her hopeful looks.

Cedric summoned his broom and, flying in a low height over the dogs, fed them dog treats to have the one with the blue tongue spit out a small, blue ball. Throwing many more dog treats onto the ground, Cedric summoned the neglected ball to himself and pocketed it, making Dumbledore blow his whistle again.

"That was well done," Amelia spoke up, seemingly contented, and the whole group shouted, "Well done, Cedric. Go Hogwarts!"

While the German champion made a similar attempt with dog treats, the Hogwarts group was distracted by their celebration for their champion, who joined them in their stand after a few minutes.

They only looked up in shock, when Harry as the fourth champion was announced and came out of the tent.

HP

Harry quickly assessed the situation. _'Magical dogs,'_ he realised. Without further thinking, he transformed into his griffin form and addressed the dogs.

=Hello doggies. I trust that you can understand me. Which of you is the one with the blue tongue who's got the ball?=

One of the dogs quickly made his way to him, waggling his tail. =That would be me,= he informed Harry. =Will I get a treat, when I give you the ball?=

=Of course,= Harry promised. =Just let me get back into my human form first. What kind of treat would you like?= he enquired.

Two hundred voiced answered at once. =Sausagesss.=

_'All right,'_ Harry thought, as he transformed back into his human form and conjured two hundred sausages like the ones, which had been served at dinner the previous evening. Seeing the dogs happily devour their prize, he took the blue ball and lifted it into the air to show it around. Not even waiting for Dumbledore to blow the whistle, he popped right onto the stands, to where his friends were staring at him in obvious amazement.

"Thank Merlin you're all right," Julia hissed, pulling him into a bear hug.

"How dare you participate in that thing?" Hermione scolded him. "I thought you didn't want to participate."

"Harry, did you really want to compete, or did someone force you?" Astoria enquired, giving him a sharp look.

"I don't really know why I did that," Harry replied, somehow feeling confused.

The Hogwarts group was so engrossed in their conversation that no one realised that everyone else had left the stands and assembled on the grounds, where the points were awarded to the champions.

"Harry Potter is in the first place with 50 points due to a brilliant Animagus transformation into a magical animal that allowed him to speak with the dogs," Dumbledore announced.

As soon as the applause had ebbed off, he continued, "Cedric Diggory is in the second place with 48 points for a good performance feeding the dogs treats, Erik Maier third place with 46 points. Fleur Delacour fourth place with twenty points," he informed the audience, causing Harry to inwardly groan.

_'Why did I even participate? I want nothing to do with that thing,'_ he wondered, unable to recall any motivation of taking a place in the tournament.

HP

All of a sudden, a wizard, whom Harry could not recall having seen before, climbed up the stands, where the Hogwarts group was still sitting.

"Mr. Potter, may I have a word in private?" he enquired.

"If you wish to speak with my student, you may as well do it here in front of all of us," Amelia replied in a firm voice, before Harry even realised what the man wanted.

"Mr. Potter," he once more addressed him. "Do you know what Legilimency is?"

"Yes sir," Harry replied, wondering who in the world the man was.

"I trust that you did not participate today by your own free will," the man continued. "Will you allow me to use Legilimency to find out what happened?"

_'Arcturus would be able to cast Legilimency,_' Harry thought, however, simply nodded as a response, knowing that his Occlumency shields were good enough to kick anyone out of his mind instantly if the need arose.

"Legilimency," the man cast in a voice that almost came out as a whisper.

_tbc..._

_Thank you so very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much. _


	25. The Doppelganger

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

In front of Harry's mind, scenes of the last twenty-four hours passed successively.

_'Something's missing there,_' he realised quickly, when he saw the memory of how he walked to dinner in the Atrium together with his classmates, only to return to the boat all by himself an instant later. Bits and pieces of something passed in front of his mind, before a scene manifested itself.

He was slowly walking over the grounds behind his friends, when he suddenly knew no more. By the time his mind returned to consciousness, he found himself in a part of the grounds further around the school building, a spot, which Harry only knew, because they had thoroughly explored the grounds in their Animagi forms a couple of times.

He barely noticed that none other than Albus Dumbledore was standing in front of him, when the old wizard pointed his wand at him and whispered, "Imperio. Participate in the first task tomorrow and do not tell anyone about it. Obliviate."

Feeling slightly confused, Harry looked around and hurried back to the boat, wondering why his friends were so far ahead of him.

He looked up, startled, when Snape suddenly pulled out of his mind, and he found himself back in the stands surrounded by his extended family and friends.

"Thank you, sir," he said, feeling grateful towards the unknown wizard. "I was actually confused why I participated in that thing," he admitted.

Seeing everyone give him questioning looks, he explained, "Apparently, Dumbledore cast the Imperius curse at me to make me participate."

"This will not happen again," Ra growled. "Harry, I'm going to teach you to shake off the Imperius curse before the second task."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Thank you, sir."

"Severus," Remus suddenly addressed the wizard standing in front of them. "Thanks for warning Harry and alerting us to the problem."

Snape returned a small bow in Remus' direction, before the Marauder enquired, "Do you know why Albus wants Harry to participate? I trust that it was him who added his name to the goblet."

The dark-haired wizard gave him a sharp nod. "I believe that Dumbledore is slowly losing his marbles," he admitted. "He wants Potter's invisibility cloak at any cost, and he thinks that if he helps Potter win the tournament, he'll lend it to him, which would be enough for Albus to claim it as his own in order to get the three Hallows."

"Will Dumbledore be able to get onto the boat by any means?" Harry enquired, glancing at his godfather.

"No, he won't," Sirius confirmed. "You just have to see to it that he can't put you under the Imperius curse anymore."

"Why don't you ask Fawkes to take the invisibility cloak to Hogwarts and make someone keep it for you until our return?" Amelia spoke up, giving Harry a questioning look.

"I'll do that," Harry replied, resolving to have Fawkes take the cloak to Professor McGonagall, as soon as they would be back on the boat.

"Mr. Snape," Amelia continued, "may I ask why exactly you're helping Mr. Potter against Professor Dumbledore? If I recall correctly, we did not exactly part on good terms and you followed Dumbledore here."

Snape let out a deep sigh. "I owe Albus a great lot," he admitted. "However, I always believed that he was fighting the Dark Lord. I'm not interested to help him fight Potter to gain the Hallows. Instead, I shall support those who fight the evil in this world, in other words, the Dark Lord and his loyal Death Eaters. I suppose that Potter and those around him are still against him?"

"Of course." Amelia nodded. "We appreciate your help."

"Thanks Severus," Remus added, smiling.

Snape slightly inclined his head with a small smile appearing on his lips.

"Thank you, sir," Harry echoed, absentmindedly playing with the small, blue ball in his hands.

"Give the ball to Lupin on the next full moon," Snape uttered, before he turned around and strode away, his robes billowing behind him.

"He doesn't know that I'm not a werewolf anymore," Remus said in a soft voice.

"Why would you need the ball to play with it though, Moony?" Sirius enquired and, turning to Harry, demanded, "Let's see what's the matter with the ball."

Harry looked at his godfather in surprise. "Why does it even concern us, considering that I won't participate in the second task?"

"Oh, that's right. Sorry, Harry," Sirius apologized and rose from the bench. "Let's return to the boat."

"Perhaps you could give the ball to Fleur, as she didn't manage to get hers," Remus spoke up in a soft voice, causing Harry's eyes to widen.

"Cedric," he addressed the older boy, "would you mind me doing that?"

"No Harry," the Hogwarts champion replied, smiling.

Harry nodded in understanding. "I'll do that then," he decided, feeling determined to have nothing to do with the tournament anymore.

HP

At the next Unspeakable meeting, Arcturus and Harry spoke with their colleagues about Dumbledore, and the Unspeakables promised to confer with Moody to make sure that the old wizard would be arrested, as soon as he set foot on British ground.

_'I wonder if he will be stupid enough to return to Britain at all,'_ Harry thought, sceptically, when he and his great uncle spoke with Amelia about the matter upon their return to Germany.

"If nothing else works, we could hand him a Portkey that'll take him to Britain," the headmistress mused aloud. "We'd have to inform the Aurors beforehand, so that he wouldn't have the time or the opportunity to transform into his phoenix form and flash away."

HP

During the following week, Ra taught Harry on a daily basis. Casting the unforgivable curse at his colleague, he made him dance, sing and do the strangest movements.

One evening, the old wizard made him sing the Hogwarts song, while everyone else was trying to enjoy a lazy evening on the shore.

He realised that one or the other of his friends cast him unnerved glances; however, he could not bring himself to refrain from singing.

"Harry, can you stop that please?" Daphne finally asked after fifteen minutes, causing Harry to become upset enough to force himself to stop singing.

Ever since then, Harry was able to resist the Imperius curse.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought in relief and asked Arcturus to still cast the curse at him every now and then, especially at times when he did not expect it at all. "Dumbledore will try it, when I don't expect it at all."

"Don't worry, you'll be able to resist now," Arcturus reassured him, however, promised to still practise with him.

They all worked together with Cedric on the mystery of the blue ball, which did absolutely nothing but seemed to be just a simple rubber ball.

"Maybe you'll have to take it out into the moon light," Luna finally suggested.

"Right," Harry blurted out, wide-eyed. "Wasn't that what Snape suggested, when he told me I should give it to Remus on the full moon?"

"Thanks Luna, Harry," Cedric said in apparent relief. "I'll try that out."

HP

Two days before the next full moon, however, was Christmas Eve. At the beginning of December, Professor Hehl had informed everyone that a Weihnachtsball AKA Yule Ball was going to take place on Christmas Eve, causing much excitement about the question who was going to take whom to the ball.

The main problem, however, was that the group from Hogwarts consisted of twenty wizards and only ten witches. Needless to say that Sirius was going to take Amelia, and Remus would accompany Miranda.

"I look forward to being married, too," Luna said, dreamily. "Then I won't have to wonder who's going to take me to a ball anymore."

"That's true," Julia agreed, grinning.

"Let's just go as a group," Harry suggested, shrugging, and after a longer discussion, everyone agreed.

Arcturus, who felt that he did not really fit into the students' age group, invited Mrs. Grün, the elder Charms professor of the Kilian's school, and Cedric, who needed a proper date as a champion, invited Birgit, one of the German students, seeming delighted when the girl accepted.

_'Thank Merlin, I don't have to invite just one of the girls,'_ Harry thought, as he took turns dancing with Julia, Susan, Astoria, Luna, Daphne and Hermione. _'I'm not a champion after all.'_

He was careful, however, to stay away from Albus Dumbledore as far as possible, even knowing that he was now able to resist the Imperius curse and above all had sent his invisibility cloak home to Minerva with Fawkes.

It was already quite late, when Astoria and Luna ushered him out onto the grounds, and the three friends spent a while sitting on the shore of the river, observing how everyone else returned to the boat.

'Harry, where are you?' he suddenly felt Arcturus' telepathic message.

'Sitting on the shore with Luna and Astoria,' Harry replied, quickly.

Just a short while later, he observed how an eagle settled down on the branch of a nearby tree_. 'He's just making sure that we're safe,'_ he thought, gratefully, feeling very much cared for by his family.

HP

As soon as the full moon rose, the whole Hogwarts group accompanied Cedric out of the boat onto the shore. Cedric quietly lifted the ball into the moon light, causing the blue colour to almost become translucent.

_'Wow,'_ Harry thought. _'How would we have ever known to do so if Snape hadn't told us?'_

All of a sudden, a grumbling voice could be heard coming from what seemed to be the inner of the ball.

_"Come seek me where you see my light,  
Where water splashes during the night,_

_I only sing when stars shine bright._

_And while you're searching ponder this;_

_I've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_And to recover what I took,_

_But past an hour, the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

"What?" Lavender blurted out, looking at Cedric in disbelief.

"I don't have a clue what that means," the older boy replied, glancing around, questioningly.

"This is difficult," Hermione admitted what everyone else thought.

"I have an idea," Luna spoke up, pensively. "It could be the night watchman in the city, and you can meet him a the Vierröhrenbrunnen fountain."

"Luna, how do you know that?" Julia enquired, leaning forward to her younger friend.

"Ah, I borrowed that muggle guidebook about Würzburg from one of the girls the other day, and it was talking about a tour with the night watchman. He's holding a light, so it fits," the girl replied, airily.

"Luna and everyone else, will you come with me into the city centre to check it out on Saturday?" Cedric asked with apparent eagerness, and everyone readily agreed.

"We'll have to go after it gets dark though," Luna replied, smiling happily.

Fortunately, the adults agreed, and the whole group took a stroll into the city centre on Saturday after dinner.

_'Thank Merlin it's winter, when it gets dark at four p.m. and not summer,'_ Harry thought, when they returned to the boat at eleven o'clock that night after following the night watchman's tour twice to be sure that Cedric was familiar with the place for the second task.

HP

During the last few days before the second task, Harry did not join his friends for the meals at the school but remained on the boat at all times apart from leaving for his Unspeakable meeting on Wednesday night.

_'I'll be glad, when the second task is over,'_ he mused. _'As comfortable and fantastic the boat is, I prefer being able to walk around or play on the grounds in my Animagus forms.'_

HP

It was a cold, snowy day at the end of February, when the second task was going to take place. As usual, the Hogwarts group went to the school for breakfast, while Harry remained on the boat.

_'Thank Merlin from tomorrow onwards, Harry can join us again,'_ Luna thought, feeling extremely relieved at the fact, when they left the school to return to their boat.

Walking behind everyone else enjoying the fresh snow, she suddenly stumbled. Not overly in a hurry, she took her time to clean the snow off her robes with a few well-placed spells, and just when she set to once more follow her group, a voice caught her attention.

"Ms. Lovegood, please wait a moment."

Surprised and alert at the same time, Luna looked behind herself, only to see Dumbledore standing right behind her.

"We need something that Harry would sorely miss," he informed her, before he touched her arm and the grounds vanished in front of her eyes. She found herself in an office, what she thought would probably be Dumbledore's.

"Harry's not going to participate in the tournament," Luna finally replied in a firm voice.

"Oh yes, he will," Dumbledore replied, pleasantly. "Therefore…"

"No," Luna interrupted the old wizard, who was again pointing his wand at her, her eyes blazing with fury.

Before the spell, which she supposed he had cast, could hit her, she transformed into her ice phoenix form and flashed away.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ she thought in utter relief, once she reappeared right next to her group of friends, who immediately began to make a fuss over her.

HP

Only after dinner, the three schools gathered on the grounds of the Kilian's School for Magic for the second task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Knowing that Harry did not wish to arrive before the beginning of the second task, the Hogwarts group only climbed onto the stands, which they had already occupied during the first task, when Dumbledore was already standing next to a large screen greeting the visitors as well as the participants, who were sitting on four chairs just underneath the screen.

_'Four?'_ Harry's thoughts went haywire, and several of his friends let out multiple gasps at the sight in front of them.

Harry Potter was sitting next to Fleur Delacour on one of the chairs.

"Who's that?" he whispered, furiously. "It's not me. I'm here."

"Dumbledore," Luna whispered back.

"That's not possible," Hermione contradicted, pointing to the old wizard. "He's standing next to the screen."

The group was pulled out of their conversation, when Dumbledore called the fake Harry to him.

"As Mr. Potter received the most points in the first task, he will go first tonight," he explained and attached a small device to Harry's chest.

As soon as he switched it on, the scene in front of the fake Harry's eyes became displayed on the huge screen.

"Due to this device, we can observe the champions' every move," Dumbledore explained, before he instructed the first champion, "Go and find the night watchman and free your friend, who is being kept hostage by the night watchman."

_'My friends are all here,'_ Harry thought in bewilderment. _'What's the old man playing at?'_

Everyone – apart from the remaining three champions, who were not able to see the screen – observed how what seemed to be Harry walked towards a fountain and followed the night watchman to a small room, which looked like a cellar room with bars in front of the window. Harry cast a spell to destroy the bars and free his hostage.

The group could not see, however, who his friend was, and observed in silence how what seemed to be Harry returned to the school with the hostage floating behind him.

_'How strange,'_ Harry thought. _'Who might that be, and who's the person, probably under Polyjuice?'_

Only when his doppelganger arrived on the school grounds and Dumbledore freed the hostage from what the Harry recognised as robes and a stunning spell, it became clear, who the hostage had been: It was none of Hogwarts' classmates, but the sole member of his family who had remained at Hogwarts: Dobby, his most trusted elf.

"This Harry is not real!" Dobby shouted loudly, pointing at the fake Harry, "and Dumbledore's elfsie was being bad kidnappings Dobby from the kitchen, when Dobby was cleanings up from lunch."

With that, the small elf looked around and – seemingly delighted to see his real Harry – popped right onto the Hogwarts stand, where Harry and his friends greeted the small elf with enthusiasm.

"Oh Dobby, I'm so sorry," Harry sighed, gently hugging his friend. "I should have made sure you were safe in the first place."

The group's attention returned to the tournament, when Cedric was sent out to rescue what everyone assumed had to be Birgit, the girl who had attended the Yule Ball with him.

No one noticed a rat scurry over the grounds of the Kilian's School for Magic. It was missing a toe.

HP

The rat hurriedly left the school grounds after getting a glimpse at the second task. As soon as he crossed the bridge over the river, he felt safe enough to take his Portkey, which brought him straight back to his master.

"Master, you were right," he acknowledged, bowing deeply. "Harry Potter is a champion in the Triwizard tournament."

The baby-like creature nodded in understanding. "Well then, you know what you have to do. Don't fail me, Wormtail."

Peter nodded, eagerly. "Of course Master."

HP

A few days before the third task of the tournament, Fawkes returned with a letter for Julia.

"From my father," Julia blurted out in surprise. "I only got a letter from him the day before yesterday." She hurriedly unfolded the parchment and skimmed her father's clear writing, before she let the letter sink, glancing at Harry.

"Is something wrong?" Harry enquired, giving the girl, whom he knew so well, a concerned look.

"Mum woke up from her coma," Julia replied in a soft voice.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much. _

_If you wish to see some photographs of St. Kilian's School for Magic and the mentioned places of this story as well as a link to the site of the night watchman, please join my Facebook group. The link is on my profile page. _


	26. Squibs

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

"Is your mother all right?" Harry enquired, eyeing Julia in concern.

The girl nodded. "Dad wrote he has taken her to his home for the time being." She let out a small sob. "Apparently, she's completely healthy but a Squib now," she informed the others. "I don't know what she's going to do now. Oh well, at least, she won't be able to transform into her Animagus form and spy on us anymore," she added as an afterthought.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought, gently placing his arm around Julia's shoulders.

"Where's your father living now?" he asked. "He's going to come to Hogwarts as our Herbology teacher from the summer onwards, isn't he?"

"Yes," Julia confirmed, "but he won't be able to bring Mum with him, and I don't know if she'll be able to live alone, especially in a magical city like Hogsmeade, where they're living now."

"Mr. Skeeter's house is…"

"… right next to our father's," the Weasley twins spoke up, looking at Julia, wide-eyed.

"Julia," Harry said in a soft voice, "don't worry, we're going to help your mother, and if she promises to not harm anyone, I can't see why she couldn't live in your father's quarters at Hogwarts." He gave Amelia a questioning look.

"Harry," the headmistress uttered, smiling, "you're too nice for your own good, considering what Mrs. Skeeter did to you. But of course you're right," she added, giving Julia a confirming nod, "we'll help you and your father as well as in extension your mother."

"What position could a Squib fulfil though?" Daphne thought aloud.

"I have an idea," Hermione spoke up, grinning broadly. Apparently realising that everyone looked at her in clear expectation, she continued, "In the muggle world, we have second hand shops and also second hand bookshops, which I really missed, when I first heard about the magical world. I spent all my pocket money at Flourish & Blotts and only hoped for a magical second hand shop, where I'd be able to buy twice as many books or more."

Collective laughter followed her announcement, before Julia blurted out, "What a brilliant idea!"

"It's fantastic," Harry confirmed. "Please inform your father about the idea and ask if his wife would be able and interested in managing my second-hand bookshop for me," Harry instructed Julia, grinning, before he corrected himself. "No, don't do anything right now. I'll be back in a little while."

"Where do you think you're going?" Sirius enquired; however, Harry had already popped away.

It was almost an hour later that Harry returned, grinning broadly.

"You know there's that new building opposite of Honeydukes, which was under construction, when we went to Hogsmeade the last time?" he enquired, causing everyone to nod and eye him with apparent suspicion.

"Well, it's finished now, and there was just one shop left. That's mine now," he informed his family and friends. "We still have to think of a name, but it'll be a second hand bookshop, maybe even not only for magical books. It could also have a small assortment of muggle books."

"Harry," Julia spoke up in a small voice, "do you really want my mum to manage that?"

"Of course," Harry assured her, shrugging. "If that's what she wants. She'll have to do a lot of research and enquiring where to get interesting old books, and since she knows her ways around the magical world better than most other people, she'll be brilliant at it – provided that she's interested at all."

"I'm sure she will," Julia replied, seemingly happy.

"She'll have to wait the two weeks until we return to Hogwarts. Then I'll deal with it," Harry promised, inwardly smiling at Julia's happy expression.

HP

Before the Hogwarts group left the boat to watch the third task of the Triwizard tournament, Amelia and Arcturus held a private conversation.

"Are we going to do something about the imposter?" Amelia enquired, worriedly.

"Not right now," Arcturus replied, calmly. "I know who it is, and we'll be able to get to him, when the victor of the tournament is going to be announced. I'm certain that he's going to win."

Amelia knew better than to question the Unspeakable, although she had her own suspicions_. 'I'm sure it's Dumbledore,_' she thought. _'I'd have suspected Snape, but since he seems to have changed sides, it probably won't be him.'_

"Are you going to act then?" she enquired in a crisp voice.

"I shall do that," the old wizard replied, gently. "Relax, Amelia. Harry will be absolutely safe with his friends and family in any case."

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Amelia thought. She could not deny to herself that she had grown very fond of the young man as well as their extended family. _'I can't wait to be back at Hogwarts and just among our extended family. When we're back, I can finally relax and give in to Sirius' wish to have a baby.'_

HP

For the third task, part of the grounds had been turned into a maze, and the champions' sole task was to get to the centre of the maze and grab the trophy.

Once again, a doppelganger of Harry was the first to enter the maze, as he was the one with the most points from the first two tasks.

"The person, who takes the trophy, is the winner of the tournament," Dumbledore announced under huge applause. "Harry Potter, go," he shouted, and the spectators observed how the person who seemed to be Harry Potter entered the maze. The scenery in front of the champion was once again displayed on a huge screen for everyone to watch. At one-minute intervals, the other champions were allowed to enter the maze.

The spectators observed with interest how the four candidates fought several obstacles, mainly magical animals or plants that attacked them and had to be defeated to continue their way through the maze.

However, Harry Potter clearly was the best.

"Whoever it is, he must be quite brilliant," Daphne spoke up, staring at the screen, where the doppelganger had just defeated a sphynx.

"True," Harry admitted. "I still think it's Dumbledore," he added as an afterthought.

"Maybe using a time turner," Hermione added, pensively.

"Time turners are ministry controlled though, oh at least in Britain," Amelia spoke up.

Ra let out a deep sigh. "I checked his identity earlier, when the champions were sitting there together."

"And?" Astoria asked in excitement.

"Who is it?" Hermione added almost simultaneously.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out eventually," Ra replied, chuckling. "At the victory party at the latest, I'm going to oust him for everyone to see. If that doesn't work for some reason, I'll tell you, when the tournament is over," he added.

"That will be tonight," Amelia said, giving the Unspeakable a questioning look.

All of a sudden, huge gasps from all stands caused Harry to look at the maze in surprise.

"What happened?"

"The Harry, the doppelganger," Hermione began to explain, clearly shocked.

"He reached the trophy at first…"

"… and was whisked away by a Portkey," the Weasley twins completed her sentence.

"What?" Harry blurted out in shock. _'Even if that's only a doppelganger, why would they do such a thing to me?'_ he wondered, looking up, when Dumbledore suddenly began to speak using a Sonorus charm.

"Dear students, dear teachers, we are at a loss as to what happened. The winner of the tournament, Harry Potter, vanished together with the trophy. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened."

Ra cast the Sonorus charm at himself and spoke – for everyone to hear. "That was an imposter anyway, as our Harry has been sitting here with us the whole time. Even during the second task, Harry has been with us and did not participate in the tournament, after Dumbledore put him under the Imperius curse to take part in the first task. Harry should not even have been in the tournament in the first place. Thus, he is not the winner, even if his doppelganger took the trophy anyway. He probably vanished to not become ousted by us when posing as the victor."

"Albus, is that true?" Anton Hehl asked in a stern voice.

"Ah, of course not, and Harry Potter clearly is the victor," Dumbledore contradicted in his grandfatherly voice that Harry despised ever since he had heard it at the trial almost five years ago.

"Everyone, we're leaving tonight," Amelia decided. "Please get ready for travelling back to Hogwarts, while I say good-bye to the headmaster and inform Cedric. If you wish to say good-bye to anyone, please do so now."

"Dobby," Harry called the elf, "please go to the Franconian Fairy Centre and buy 1,000 bottles of the Franconian Fairy Fizzle, 3,000 if they have so many in stock."

Apparently sensing that everyone was in a hurry, as the Hogwarts group already began to leave the stands, Dobby popped away without a word.

Five minutes later, when Harry had just reached the shore of the river, where he intended to spend the rest of the afternoon, until everyone was gathered and they were ready to leave, Dobby appeared on his side.

"Dobby has bought 5,000 bottles of the fizzle and put them into the Great Harry Potter's room at Hogwarts," he announced. "They sent Dobby to the place, where they are produced." He pointed to a spot on top of one of the mountains. "Dobby even managed to get them for a lower price, when Dobby told them that it was for the winner of the Triwizard tournament.

"Ah, Dobby, you're impossible," Harry sighed, "but brilliant anyway. Thanks a lot."

Turning to Julia, Astoria, Daphne, Susan, Hermione and Luna, who were sitting on the shore with him, he explained, "We can give one to every Hogwarts student and teacher and still have lots left for when we might need them in our fight against Voldemort."

HP

Albus Dumbledore inwardly groaned, as the Portkey activated that took him away from the Triwizard Tournament. Of course, he had known that a Portkey would take him away – in contrary to his colleagues, who had assumed that Harry Potter had somehow left by his own, free will. He had efficiently finished moderating the tournament, awarding the price to Harry Potter as the victor, even if the champion was not present and the Hogwarts group had protested stating that an imposter had played Harry's part. Afterwards, he had returned to his office and used the time turner to send himself back two hours to play Harry Potter's part under Polyjuice potion.

_'If Harry had not participated, I'd have lost my magic, so what could I do?'_ he mused, before he recalled that he should transform into his phoenix form and flee from wherever the Portkey had taken him. _'Stupid me,'_ he scolded himself upon realising that he had dawdled too much and had been placed under what seemed to be a transformation prohibiting curse. Or a magic suppressing spell. The outcome was the same – he could not transform. He realised in shock that his wand flew out of his hand. Looking up to take in his surroundings for the first time, he noticed in horror that he found himself in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, the grave of Senior Tom Riddle laying open in front of him. Worst of all was that he was tied to a gravestone.

He could do nothing but watch how none other than Peter Pettigrew revived Voldemort. He even cut his, Albus', arm to use the blood of the enemy. Nothing but regret that he had not looked for someone else to play Harry Potter in the third task but himself.

Nursing his injured arm, he observed how Voldemort was resurrected and stood tall before him, seemingly powerful.

"Harry Potter, here we meet again," the evil wizard said to him, making Albus wonder how long the Polyjuice was going to last. He had taken the advanced version, which Severus had only invented on his request a few months ago; nevertheless, it should wear off after two hours' time.

As Voldemort tossed his wand back at him, he inwardly sighed in relief, thinking that he had at least done one thing correctly – bringing his spare wand instead of the Elder Wand. Before he could cast anything, he felt the effects of the Cruciatus curse wash over his body that, unfortunately, chose the same instant, while his limbs were shaking helplessly, to change back into the old body of Albus Dumbledore.

"See see, Harry Potter," Voldemort drawled. "But now that's interesting. Albus Dumbledore faking to be Harry Potter for the third task. You know, Dumbledore, we can't have that," he continued, as he lifted the curse only to cast his next spell, before Albus could do as much as react. The spell hit him square into the chest.

_'What did that do?'_ Albus wondered, as he pointed his wand at the evil wizard, who was busying himself calling his followers using Pettigrew's Dark Mark.

_'It doesn't affect him,'_ he realised, frowning, as he repeated the spell – to no avail.

Just when dozens of Death Eaters wearing masks appeared in front of Voldemort, hell broke out. Albus noticed in shock that he could not cast as much as a simple Lumos charm let alone transform into his phoenix form, when the place was flooded by Aurors and Unspeakables, who quickly took out all the Death Eaters in quick succession.

Voldemort's pet snake, Nagini, who had appeared on the graveyard, as soon as her master had regained his corporeal body, attacked the Aurors; however, one of the Unspeakables killed her with a well-placed spell.

Nagini did not die quietly, however, as a gruesome voice screamed and complained before finally giving in to silence.

_'What was that?'_ Albus wondered. However, before he could do as much as ponder the mystery, he found himself face to face with his friend of old times, Alastor Moody, and Head Unspeakable Croaker.

"Now Albus, that was it," Moody stated, while Croaker cast a series of spells at him, only to let out a small gasp.

"Congratulations, Dumbledore, you're a Squib now," Croaker informed him.

"Voldemort," Albus blurted out. "He cast a spell at me." He did not even have to ask. He knew that it was not reversible. Perhaps, over time, his magic could slowly come back, however, to which extent would have to be seen. He could not help a couple of tears leaking from his eyes. '_Magic was my greatest good,'_ he thought, horrified.

_'You should not have abused it,'_ a small voice spoke up from the back of his mind, and Albus sighed, regretfully.

"Pity," Croaker replied, smirking.

"Don't tell me that you deserved anything else," Moody added, "after placing Harry Potter into the Triwizard Tournament against his will, casting the Imperius curse at him and finally impersonate him, when he became able to resist your curses. The boy has done nothing to you, and you've abused him from baby times onwards."

"Now," Croaker said with some kind of finality in his words, "this is our good-bye and a one-way ticket to Azkaban."

An instant later, the Portkey that Croaker tossed at him, activated, and the world turned black in front of his eyes. When he saw light again, he already felt the cold of the nearby Dementors.

HP

Sirius was just about to let the boat leave, when Alastor Moody and Unspeakable Croaker appeared in the living room, where everyone was assembled.

"Sirius, stop the boat for a while," his grandfather instructed him. "Let's hear them out first."

The Auror and the Unspeakable informed the group what had happened on the graveyard of Little Hangleton.

_'Dumbledore and the Death Eaters are in Azkaban,'_ Harry thought in relief, _'and Dumbledore is a Squib after all. How cool is that?'_

"What about Snape?" Amelia asked, sharply. "He has the Dark Mark, but as far as he told me, he was spying for Dumbledore, and recently, he turned away from Dumbledore and was supporting Harry and our side."

"I want to speak to him," Harry agreed in a firm voice.

"Very well," Ra spoke up. "Harry, Amelia and I will go and speak with Headmaster Hehl and Snape. Sorry, everyone. You might as well travel back to Hogwarts. We'll be able to return by our own means."

"No!" Astoria and Luna shouted, simultaneously.

"We won't go without Harry," Julia concurred.

"We'll just wait here," Hermione added.

"Dobby wills brings dinner for the friends and family of the Great Harry Potter," Dobby announced and popped away.

HP

"He's back," Severus realised, as he stared at the black Dark Mark on his left arm. "I noticed the summons, but it wasn't as strong as it would have been if I was in Britain, so I simply ignored it," he admitted to Amelia Bones, Harry and Unspeakable Ra.

"We believe that you were a spy, and we appreciate that you helped Harry against Dumbledore the other day," Amelia stated in a gentle voice. "We would like to ask you if you prefer to remain here at the Kilian's School for Magic or if you would accompany us to Hogwarts as our Potions Master, even if not Potions professor, and assist us in our fight against Voldemort."

"We'd love to have you, sir," Harry added. "It's just that Pandora Lovegood is our Potions professor, but as you certainly know, there's so much work that we could as well have a Potions Master beside the professor."

"What about the head of Slytherin position?" Severus queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"We have completely separated the head of house positions from the teaching positions," Harry informed him, smiling. "Andromeda Tonks is now the head of Slytherin."

_'Tonks,'_ Severus thought in shock. _'Oh well, she was a Slytherin, and then she was disowned.'_ He remained pensive for a moment, before he replied.

"I accept your offer. Thank you. Please allow me to remain here for the four weeks until the end of the school year."

"Of course," Harry agreed. "If you need us to send you a Portkey or come to fetch you, please let me know. Otherwise, just come to Hogwarts, when you're ready. We'll be there."

"Thank you, Mr. Potter," Severus replied, somehow feeling relieved at the prospect of returning to Hogwarts. As much as he liked the Kilian's School, it had not become his home, not like Hogwarts, and now, with Albus gone, returning to Hogwarts was his best choice, especially if he did not have to teach students.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much._


	27. The Bookworm

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore / Weasley bashing_

* * *

Together with Snape, Amelia, Harry and Ra made their way to Anton Hehl's office and informed the headmaster about everything concerning Albus Dumbledore and his offenses.

"I am so sorry," the headmaster apologized to Harry. "Please believe me that I had no idea."

"We know that," Harry replied in a soft voice. "I hope you won't hold it against us if we take Professor Snape back to Hogwarts, as that is where he belongs. It was only because of Dumbledore's manipulations that he came here."

"I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed being your Potions Master," Snape spoke up, "and I thank you for the opportunity. Now with the Dark Lord back, I believe that my expertise as a spy for the light side is needed in Britain though."

"We would like to express an invitation to a group from your school to Hogwarts for whenever it will be convenient for you, Anton," Amelia spoke up. "It could be during the Christmas holidays or at some time in spring or summer."

The headmaster happily accepted the invitation and, before his guests left, handed all of Dumbledore's possessions, amongst them the Elder Wand, to Harry, stating that he deserved to have everything, as Dumbledore had wronged him so badly.

'_Now I have all three Hallows,'_ Harry realised, as he pocketed the Elder Wand feeling shocked at the revelation. '_I need to keep them hidden very well, perhaps at three different places within Hogwarts. The only thing I'm going to use is the invisibility cloak if at all. I've already got two extremely powerful wands, so I don't need the Elder Wand at all.'_

HP

An hour later, Harry, Amelia and Ra entered the boat and motioned for Sirius to get the boat started.

While Harry, Amelia and Arcturus had spoken with Headmaster Hehl and Severus Snape, Fawkes had visited the parents of the group members and informed everyone that the boat was going to arrive back at Hogwarts in the very early hours of the following morning.

When the boat reached the shore of the lake at five o'clock in the morning after a short Animagi night, the parents of the Great Alliance, the Grangers, the Skeeters, Mr. Weasley as well as the parents of the seventh-years, who had travelled to Germany, were standing around to welcome them.

HP

"Voldemort can now be defeated," Regulus informed Harry, "since we killed the last Horcrux, his pet snake, at his resurrection. If we believe in the prophecy that has been made about you and him, it'll be up to you to kill him."

"Up to me?" Harry asked in bewilderment. "Prophecy?"

"Apparently, a prophecy has been made about you and him, before you were even born," Regulus replied, sighing.

"Err," Harry uttered, somehow feeling angry at the sudden revelation. "And you only thought about informing me about it now?"

"Sorry Harry, but before the Horcruxes were all gone, he couldn't have been killed anyway," Arcturus explained. "Therefore, it was not really a pressing matter to discuss."

"In fact, I've thought about the matter," Fabian said, pensively. "We should go and get the prophecy orb and change it."

Harry stared at his colleague, wide-eyed. "Is that even possible?" he asked in bewilderment. "To charm a prophecy?"

"Only the people mentioned in the prophecy are able to retrieve it, and we could charm the content to something else," Fabian replied, grinning. "Of course, it doesn't change the prophecy, but a prophecy is not necessarily going to become fulfilled. Yet, it will change what others believe it to be," he explained to Harry.

Harry nodded in understanding, even if his thoughts went haywire at the sudden revelation.

"Let's do that," Arcturus agreed. "Come with me."

Shaking his head in annoyance, Harry followed his two colleagues to the Department of Magical Mysteries, donning their robes and hoods as they went.

"Everything is in alphabetical order," Fabian informed Harry, as they reached the Hall of Prophecy.

Harry looked around in surprise. Huge shelves with nothing but prophecy orbs occupied the whole room. To his surprise, however, it merely took a five-minute search, before they found the orb.

It was labelled, _'S.P.T to A.P.W.B.D and S.T.S - Dark Lord and (?) Harry Potter.'_

Harry still lingered on the description, when a raspy, female voice began to speak.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." _

"Are you certain that it's about me?" Harry enquired in a small voice.

"Yes," Arcturus confirmed. "In fact, it could have been about either you or Neville Longbottom, but after he marked you as his equal by the scar, which you don't even have anymore, it has come down to you."

_'Neville,'_ Harry thought in surprise, imagining the boy, who was one of his best friends, to have to fight Voldemort.

"Show it to me," Arcturus demanded and, when Harry took it into his hands and held it out to his great uncle, the old wizard pointed his hand at the orb, muttering an unknown incantation. "You can put it back," he then said, seemingly contented.

Carefully placing the orb back, Harry looked at it, willing to hear the prophecy again, which began after a short while.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and neither must die at the hand of the other for neither can live when the other dies...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

Harry grinned. "Let's hope that Voldemort is going to believe it. The one problem is that we need him to hear the prophecy in the first place. The other is that ,while I've fought him one or the other time already, we need him out in the open for me to even attempt to vanquish him."

"That's true. After his resurrection, he hasn't been seen by anyone except perhaps his followers if there are any left," Tonks spoke up, changing her hair to lime green.

"Harry," Arcturus said, pensively, "speak to Snape about the matter. Perhaps, he could lead Voldemort into the Hall of Prophecies to hear the prophecy. "We just need to know his plan in advance to keep the other Unspeakables out of the Department of Mysteries at that time."

As soon as he was back at Hogwarts, Harry sent a Patronus to Severus Snape, trusting that the Potions Master already knew his griffin Patronus from the few times they had communicated after the end of the school year, when Snape had kept his promise and returned to Hogwarts.

_'Sir, I need to speak with you in private, please. Where and when can we meet?'_

The response arrived in form of a chameleon Patronus a minute later.

_'Either now or tomorrow morning after breakfast. Please come to my office.'_

Harry glanced at his wrist watch. It was nine o'clock. "Sorry, I'm going to be late for curfew, but I need to go and see Snape. I'll spend the night here in my Animagus form then."

"Yay, let's have an Animagus night," Luna was the first to reply, cheerily, causing the others to voice their agreement.

"Be careful, Harry," Julia said, gently placing a kiss onto his cheek, before he headed to the door.

HP

"Professor," Harry addressed the Potions Master, as he entered his office.

"Mr. Potter, I'm not a professor anymore. I'm merely a Potions master," Snape corrected him, causing Harry to stare at the man in surprise.

"You're a still a professor," he then replied, "and if the need arose, I'd very likely ask you to teach again. I believe, however, that you prefer research and brewing to teaching?"

"Yes, indeed," Snape admitted, smirking. "Nevertheless, you may call me Severus."

"Thank you, sir. Only if you call me Harry though," Harry replied, before he came to the topic at hand. "Severus, I trust that you know about the prophecy that was made about Voldemort and myself."

"Yes," Severus replied in apparent surprise.

Knowing that Severus had sworn an oath to Amelia to support him against Voldemort and the Death Eaters, Harry admitted, "For five years now, I've been working with the Unspeakables. Today, we went into the Hall of Prophecies and listened to the prophecy. In the description of the orb, it said that it had been made to Dumbledore and you."

Severus let out a deep sigh. "It was me. I killed your parents," he admitted, darkly.

Harry eyed the older wizard in surprise. "After all I heard it was Voldemort who killed them, not you, sir," he contradicted.

"I heard the first half of the prophecy, because I was eavesdropping on Dumbledore," Severus admitted, "and I told the part I heard to the Dark Lord. You must understand," he continued in a soft voice, "that it was a desperate time for me, and I hoped to find something in the Dark Lord, which I did not find at Hogwarts: Friendship."

"You couldn't know that the prophecy was about me now, could you?" Harry asked, gently.

"No," Severus admitted, sighing.

"Then there's no need to blame yourself, sir," Harry decided in a firm voice. "Anyway, what I was going to tell you is that one of the Unspeakables partly changed the prophecy. Please watch."

"You want me to cast Legilimency at you?" Severus confirmed and, only when Harry nodded and emerald eyes locked into onyx orbs, he cast the spell.

"… _and neither must die at the hand of the other for neither can live when the other dies...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

"This is good. I never heard the second part; however, I suppose that the original said the exact opposite?" Severus enquired, when he pulled out of Harry's mind.

"Precisely," Harry confirmed, grinning.

"He's not going to summon me before Saturday, as I need to finish some potions he asked me about," Severus stated. "However, when I meet him, I'll suggest going to the Hall of Prophecies to hear the second part of it. Will you ask the Unspeakables to make sure that we get in there without being killed?"

"Of course, sir," Harry promised, grateful that the Potions Master understood and complied so easily. "Thank you for your help, sir."

HP

On Saturday a week later, Severus, Voldemort and two Death Eaters, who had not followed the summons on Voldemort's resurrection and thus escaped Azkaban, entered the Hall of Prophecies to hear the prophecy.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and neither must die at the hand of the other for neither can live when the other dies...The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..."_

"Severus," Voldemort addressed his Potions master, as he carefully took the prophecy and buried it deep in his robe pocket, "thanks for bringing me here. Thank Merlin that Dumbledore attended my resurrection and not Potter. I might have killed him, considering that I didn't know the full extent of the prophecy."

Severus lightly bowed his head. "I live to serve, my Master," he lied, easily.

"When we free my faithful followers from Azkaban, make sure that we teach them all to not harm Harry Potter. They may kill everyone else of Dumbledore's old followers, but not the boy," the Dark Lord decided in apparent determination.

"I understand," Severus and the two Death Eaters replied, simultaneously.

HP

At ten o'clock in the morning of the first of August, the first second-hand shop for magical and the occasional muggle books opened on the main street in Hogsmeade: The Bookworm.

Harry had planned everything in detail. While he was still in Germany, he had asked Buckbean to buy the house for him. After his return to Britain, he immediately set up a Gringotts account for the bookshop and placed an adequate sum of gold into it that he and Buckbean deemed sufficient to equip the bookshop with used books.

Together with Julia, he visited Rita Skeeter and offered her to become his employee as manager of the second-hand bookshop. As Julia had predicted, her mother was over-the-moon with joy about her new job and immediately set to work after signing the contract.

Ordering five credit cards that were linked to the account of the Bookworm for the magical world and one that worked in the muggle world, Harry gave them to Mrs. Skeeter, Julia, Susan and Hermione, who also received the one for the muggle world, and the five of them spent much time during July finding adequate books for the shop.

The Bookworm was not much smaller than Flourish and Blotts; however, it was cramped with shelves full of books from the floor up to the ceiling and equipped with a magical aide that allowed to easily pull out books from the top shelves and return them to the same shelf. To Harry's relief, there was no magic required to actually use it, so that it even worked well for Rita.

One part of the ground floor was equipped with small tables and comfortable chairs, where the visitors could look at books while enjoying coffee or home-made lemonade as well as the occasional home-made biscuits.

During the four weeks of holidays before the beginning of the new school year, the Bookworm turned out to be a big hit.

After almost eighty percent of the Hogwarts student population had arrived wanting to sell their school books from the previous school year, Rita and Harry decided to have one room on the second floor dedicated to school books – at least during the summer months. By the end of August, most of the school books had been sold again.

Knowing that Rita would need some time to find and purchase new books, they had decided that it would suffice to open the bookshop from 12:00 to 17:00 p.m. The only exception was Saturday, when the shop would already open at 10:00 a.m., so that there would be enough time for the Hogwarts students to enjoy looking for books during their Hogsmeade visits.

The Bookworm was a fantastic reason for Harry to convince Amelia to have more Hogsmeade visits than before, even if more teachers were required to chaperone due to the common fear that spread over the magical world due to Voldemort's reappearance.

On the day of the opening of the Bookworm, the Sentinel dedicated its front page to the new shop.

_'Britain's first magical second hand bookshop – The Bookworm,'_ the headline screamed in red letters, followed by a few photographs taken by Mr. Skeeter.

_'Today at ten o'clock in the morning, the first second-hand bookshop in the magical world will open its doors to customers. The Bookworm buys and sells all kinds of magical books – as well as the occasional muggle book – including used Hogwarts school books. Owner of the shop is no other than Harry Potter, however, the shop will be managed by his assistant, Rita Skeeter. As a Hogwarts student, I am especially looking forward to spending the Hogsmeade visits in the Bookworm. Hermione Granger, fifth-year student at Hogwarts.'_

HP

"I hope Mum will get around just by herself," Julia said, sceptically, when she and Harry strode back to Hogwarts on the first of September for their fifth Hogwarts year.

"Your mum will well be able to handle the Bookworm just by herself, and as she's staying at Hogwarts with your father, she'll be able to ask any of us for help at any time," Harry assured her in a soft voice. "One of us should always assist her during our Hogsmeade visits though – in case it gets too crowded or the Slytherins try to cast nasty spells at her, if they get to know that she's a Squib."

"Yeah, we'll do that," Julia agreed, smiling. "We also need some time to go on a date though," she added in a smaller voice.

"That we'll do, too," Harry assured her. "There are lots of places for dates within Hogwarts, too though."

Returning to the founders' quarters, they spent an hour in Harry's room, cuddling and kissing, before Susan began to search for Harry.

"Sorry, I was just wondering where you were," she said, grinning broadly, as Harry and Julia followed her into the living room, where Amelia, Miranda, Sirius, Remus, Minerva and Mr. Skeeter were assembled.

HP

"I completely forgot to tell you," Amelia suddenly spoke up. "Last week, Minister Fudge contacted me and informed me that he was going to send a professor to Hogwarts to teach a new subject 'Magical Education.' I asked him if he had spoken to Harry about it…"

"No," Harry interrupted her, glaring at the headmistress.

"Well," Amelia continued, "he told me that Dolores Umbridge was going to teach the class…"

"What?!" Susan and Astoria blurted out in simultaneous horror.

"Oh well, I told him that we don't want her at the school and don't need the subject either. He was not happy to say the least, but he had to accept that with Harry as the owner, the ministry has no say at Hogwarts," Amelia finished her explanation.

"Thank you," Harry replied, letting out a sigh of relief. "Umbridge…"

Somewhere, he had heard that name before. "Was that the horrible witch in pink, who was in Dumbledore's trial?" he asked, horrified.

"Exactly," Amelia confirmed. "She's an absolute bitch."

"Worse than my mum was?" Julia enquired.

"Much worse, and your mum isn't bad anymore," Harry replied, smiling.

HP

Harry's fifth year passed inefficiently. Voldemort remained quiet and hidden, and the Bookworm was an absolute success and became the most frequented shop during the Hogsmeade visits.

During the Christmas holidays, a group of twenty students from the Kilian's School for Magic, accompanied by Anton Hehl and his young successor, Florian Hofmann, came to visit Hogwarts.

The friends of the Great Alliance, to which they now counted Julia, Hermione and the Weasley twins, spent the ten days of the visit at Hogwarts, showing their guests around Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and other places of the magical and the muggle world.

The Weasley twins even organised a Quidditch tournament, where the Hogwarts team consisted of members from all four houses with the twins as Beaters; Neville as Keeper and Harry as Seeker. They played three matches against the Kilian's School, however, the guests did not have a chance to win, as Harry always caught the Snitch after a too short time.

Nevertheless, everyone had much fun, and when the guests returned back to Germany by Portkey, Amelia and Florian decided to have further visits or possibly even exchanges between both schools in the future.

HP

The friends' OWLs and the twins' NEWTs were almost over, when a large headline in the Sentinel shocked the whole magical world of Britain.

_'Voldemort frees his Death Eaters from Azkaban – are the Dementors under his control?'_

"If he freed the Death Eaters, Dumbledore might have gotten out together with them," Astoria was the first to comment on the news, causing the friends to stare at her in shock.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much._


	28. Accidental Magic?

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

To everyone's surprise, the Death Eaters, who had been freed from Azkaban, remained quiet. There were no reports of attacks recorded, neither on muggles nor on magical folk and no sightings either.

_'I wonder what they're doing,'_ Harry thought, occasionally, when the topic came up among the Unspeakables.

The question if Dumbledore had been freed as well was also a recurring topic occupying the minds of the children of the Alliance, however, even if he had been freed, he seemed to keep as quiet as the Death Eaters.

"How would he even be able to do any mayhem, considering that he's a Squib now?" Lavender asked one day, when, once again, the topic returned to the fate of the old wizard.

"If someone listened to you, they'd think that Dumbledore was a good friend of yours, hearing how often you talk about him," Hermione said, rolling her eyes in apparent annoyance.

"As to how he'd be able to do something," Julia spoke up, "he still has his house-elves."

"Will he be able to call a house-elf in spite of not having magic though?" Harry enquired.

"Probably yes. The house-elf has his or her own magic, which makes them realise if their master or mistress needs them," Daphne explained, causing Harry to nod in understanding.

"Then perhaps he's not even in the country," he said, quietly. "And even if he came to see me, he wouldn't be able to cast any spell at me. He's a Squib, and I'm a wizard, so there's no need to worry."

_'He could use a muggle gun,'_ he thought, _'however, Dumbledore has never tried to kill me, only just to annoy me.'_ He did not voice his thought, however, knowing that his friends would worry otherwise.

HP

During the summer holidays, Harry worked with the Unspeakables on a daily basis. On the first of August, however, he took a day off. First of all, it was the Bookworm's first anniversary, and then, it was the opening day of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, the twins' joke shop, which was just adjacent to the Bookworm.

Julia was assisting her mother during the whole holidays, while the other children of the Alliance came by to help with the bookshop and the joke shop every now and then. Hermione and Tracey spent much time in the muggle world buying books of interest for the Bookworm.

During the afternoon, the children of the Alliance gathered in front of the two shops for a large party. Harry had seen to it that there would be enough food and beverages for his friends and the neighbours from the main street of Hogsmeade along with any possible guests to enjoy themselves.

All of a sudden, an unknown man with blonde hair approached him. He was not much older than Harry himself but was wearing purple robes, which somehow made him stand out of the crowd and caused Harry to have a strange feeling about him, although he could not place it.

"Mr. Potter," he addressed him, only to continue, "Harry, my boy, congratulations to a successful enterprise. How…"

"Dumbledore," Harry growled after quickly casting a silent, wandless spell that the Unspeakables used to recognise people under Polyjuice potion.

'Dumbledore is here at the Bookworm,' he quickly thought to his colleagues.

Mere seconds later, two Unspeakables arrived and took the young wizard in purple robes into custody.

Harry remained standing there staring at the spot, which the old wizard had occupied just a moment before. "I don't understand," he uttered, shaking his head in annoyance. "Why won't he leave me in peace?"

"It's all right, Harry," Julia said in a soft voice, gently laying her arm around her shoulders. "He's back in Azkaban now."

Harry let out a snort. "Oh well, only until Voldemort sees fit to free his followers again. They've already caught about a third of the Death Eaters again."

"And then you'll manage to put him back again," Julia replied, smiling, before she took his hand and pulled him over to where their friends were having tea and cake. "Let's join the others and enjoy the party for now."

_'That's true,' _Harry agreed, smiling, as he observed the commotion inside and outside the Bookworm with a hint of pride. _'My own shop,'_ he thought, '_although it's Julia's mother, who does all the work. I'm glad that we could provide the chance for her and that she took it. She changed a lot and is much nicer than before her accident.'_

"Harry, are you coming?" Astoria yelled, pulling him back to reality.

HP

"Harry," Jessica Greengrass addressed Harry in the evening before the beginning of the new school year. "Would you be willing to become our Quidditch captain?"

Harry stared at his head of house in shock. "I'm sorry," he finally said, letting out a deep sigh. "I'm afraid that I won't have enough time to properly fulfil the post. Maybe Neville would be a good candidate?" he then suggested.

"I'd like that," Neville spoke up, smiling, "if it's really all right with you, Harry."

"Of course," Harry confirmed, returning the smile.

"You're still going to remain our Seeker though, aren't you, Harry?" his friend enquired.

"Of course – if you'll have me," Harry replied, giving the other boy a questioning look.

"Of course," his friends chorused.

"I'd love to continue having the Quidditch Cup in my office," Jessica threw in, grinning.

"I believe that it's slowly time to challenge that," Minerva spoke up, giving her younger colleague a challenging look.

"No chance, as long as Harry is our Seeker," Luna hummed, seemingly for herself, wearing a dreamy expression of satisfaction.

_'She's so sweet,'_ Harry thought, somehow feeling very happy.

HP

"Minerva told us that Hogwarts never had a year with so many "O"s in their OWLs than ours," Susan informed her classmates at the beginning of the school year, and she and Hermione busied themselves making study plans for the group to have everyone study for their NEWTs as well as they did for their OWLs.

_'It's refreshing to be able to go to Hogsmeade and visit the Bookworm every other week,'_ Harry thought, even if he realised that by doing so he barely had any free time for himself. With Quidditch practice, work at the Unspeakables' office and Hermione's study plan, his week was packed.

_'Maybe I should give up playing on the house team,'_ he thought one day; however, he could not bring himself to do so, knowing that his whole house would be disappointed.

_'Oh well, being very busy is still better than having nothing to do,'_ he thought, recalling a time of his childhood, when he was locked in a cupboard in sadness and boredom.

_'My life is so much better now,'_ he thought. _'I'm really happy.'_ As he recalled his time with his muggle relatives, he realised that he had not thought about them for years. '_Strange,'_ he mused, _'considering that I spent nine and a half years with them. Oh well, they're not important anymore.'_

HP

It was on Halloween that Voldemort once again broke his followers out of Azkaban. According to the Unspeakables, he even brought the Dementors under his control.

"Oh Merlin, I wonder if Dumbledore is free again, too," Astoria groused, tossing her newspaper over to Daphne.

"He surely is," Julia said, grimly.

"Well, we'll just keep our eyes open," Harry decided, shrugging. He did not feel overly disturbed by the news, knowing that the old wizard was a Squib.

HP

After dinner the same day, when the extended family was gathered in the founders' quarters, Amelia spoke up, sounding grim.

"From tomorrow evening onwards, we're going to teach all of you the Patronus charm. Apparently, the ministry has lost control over the Dementors, and it's important that you know how to defend yourselves against the soulless monsters."

"In the worst case," Sirius continued, "you can always transform into your Animagus forms, as the Dementors won't and probably even can't harm animals. Still," he added under his wife's glare, "it's important that you learn the spell to not only defend yourselves but also your classmates."

"Why don't you teach it to the whole school then?" Susan asked in apparent bewilderment.

"Because not everyone will be able to cast the spell," Remus said, gently. "You're the best students we have. Nevertheless, I will teach everyone from fifth year onwards during the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes. You're going to receive a much more intense course though, considering that we'll practise on a daily basis."

The friends realised that the Patronus charm was not easy, except for Harry, whom the Unspeakables had taught it years ago, however, after a month of intense practice, the whole group was able to cast it – which was just on time, as Voldemort sent the Dementors to Hogwarts in the morning of the last Hogsmeade visit before Christmas.

During breakfast, Hogwarts alerted Harry to the fact, who rose from his chair casting a sonorous charm on himself.

"Everyone who is proficient at casting the Patronus charm, please follow me out onto the grounds. We've got some work to do," he addressed the Great Hall, before he crossed the room in a fast pace, seeing from the corners of his eyes that his friends followed swiftly.

The friends along with the teachers and a few seventh-years followed him and cast their Patroni, which chased the Dementors away, before most of the student body had even realised what had happened.

HP

On Christmas morning, Harry received a letter from no other than Albus Dumbledore.

_'Harry my boy,  
I hope you can enjoy your Christmas Day, knowing that Voldemort went to kill your family on Christmas Eve.  
The Dursleys raised you and they would still be alive had you returned to them once a year for four weeks during the summer to keep my protections running.  
Best greetings  
Albus Dumbledore'_

Harry stared at the letter in absolute shock.

"Harry…"

"… what's wrong?" Julia and Astoria were the first to ask, leaning over to look at the parchment in front of him.

"Voldemort went to kill the Dursleys, and it's my fault," Harry replied, tonelessly.

"What?" Daphne asked, incredulously.

"Who said such a thing?" Susan enquired.

"Dumbledore," Harry replied, doubts appearing at the front of his mind, as soon as he said the name.

"His brain is clouded with wrackspurts, Harry, you know that," Luna spoke up, smiling. "I'm sure the Dursleys are fine."

"I'll go and check that," Harry said in determination, rose from his chair and popped away, before anyone could keep him back.

HP

Harry arrived right behind the garage in the Dursleys' garden. Making himself invisible, he carefully stepped around the garage and peered into the kitchen window. Seeing that the kitchen was empty, he looked into the living room window, only to see the three Dursleys together with their horrible Aunt Marge busy themselves around the Christmas tree.

'_They're completely unharmed,'_ he thought in relief, although he could not prevent himself from observing them in absolute disgust.

_'I never got a Christmas present,'_ he recalled, feeling great dislike for his aunt and uncle. '_Dudley was horrible, too, but he only did what his parents told him,' _he reasoned with himself. _'His aunt is the worst of all though.'_

He shortly pondered leaving them some nice Christmas present in some kind of disguise, however, dismissed the idea, telling himself that he did not want to steep as low as their level.

_'I better return home, where my friends are surely missing me,'_ he resolved, knowing that at least Julia, Luna, Astoria, Daphne, Hermione and Susan were probably beside themselves with worry.

HP

Nevertheless, Dumbledore's story did not seem all too far-fetched, when the Unspeakables were alerted to a huge outburst of accidental magic in the muggle area of Little Whinging. It happened in the evening of the summer solstice, just when all students had returned home.

"That's where Harry's aunt and uncle live," Arcturus informed Regulus, as the two of them readied themselves to investigate.

"Shall we take him with us?" Regulus enquired, giving his grandfather a questioning look.

"Better not," the old wizard decided. "Who knows what happened."

When the Unspeakables arrived on the spot, Aurors and Obliviators were already present; nevertheless, it was a scene that was as hard to take in as it was unbelievable.

HP

Dudley relaxed at the kitchen table, somehow regretting that his cousin was not living with them anymore. '_As much a nuisance as he was, he could cook better than Mum,'_ he thought, heading over to the fridge in search of some kind of dessert, just when the entrance door was blast open.

Dudley quickly cowered behind the fridge, observing in horror how two people, a man with long, blond hair and a woman who looked a little crazy, strode into the house and began to ridicule his parents.

"How dare you abuse Harry Potter, a wizard, you worthless muggles," the man said in a threatening voice.

His companion hissed something that Dudley could not understand, as she pointed her wand at his father, causing him to fall to the floor, where he wriggled around in obvious pain.

It seemed to take ages, before the woman lifted the curse and turned to do the same to his mother.

"Stop it!" Dudley shouted, leaving his hiding spot in a faint attempt to help his parents.

"Oh, and what would a fat muggle like you do to make us stop?" the woman enquired in a ridiculously babying voice, before she let out a cackling laughter.

"Stop it or I'm going to kill you!" Dudley shouted, becoming extremely upset.

However, the two magical people continued casting spells at his parents, and Dudley noticed in shock that his parents were not making the slightest moves anymore, even if they were hit by more spells.

_'You've killed my parents,'_ Dudley thought in horror and absolute anger, before something snapped inside his body, burst out of him and hit the two intruders, causing both of them to slump to the floor, seemingly dead.

_'What was that?'_ he thought, before the world around him turned black and he knew no more.

HP

Harry was just playing Wizard's Chess with Julia, when he received Arcturus' eagle Patronus.

"Harry, we need you to come to the Dursleys' residence," the eagle informed him in his great uncle's voice.

"Sorry Julia," Harry said in bewilderment.

"Just go, Harry," Susan spoke up. "I'll continue for you."

"Thanks," Harry replied, completely forgetting to summon his unspeakable robes from his room, before he popped away.

To his horror, the place was not as quiet as it had been on Christmas Day. Instead, it was swamped by Aurors and neighbours.

He walked around the garage towards the entrance door, where his two Unspeakable colleagues were waiting for him with an apparently distraught Dudley.

"What happened?" Harry asked, horrified.

"They killed Mum and Dad!" Dudley shouted. "They're freaks like you. It's all your fault."

Harry's eyes widened, and he let out a loud gasp. "Who did that, and where are they?" he asked, grimly.

"Easy Harry," Arcturus said in a soft voice. "It was Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange, and they're both dead."

"Dead?" Harry enquired, incredulously. "How?"

"I killed them," Dudley said in a small voice, "at least that's what he said after looking into my mind." He pointed to the Unspeakable, who Harry knew to be Arcturus.

"How?" Harry asked in disbelief. "You wouldn't be able to kill magical people."

"Apparently, your cousin is a wizard," Arcturus supplied in a firm voice. "He let out a huge bout of accidental magic."

"What? That's not possible," Harry replied, shaking his head, unwilling to believe.

"I'm not a freak," Dudley uttered in a small attempt to deny.

"You're not a freak. You're probably a wizard just like Harry," Arcturus informed him.

"What's going to happen to me now?" Dudley asked in a small voice. "Am I going to go to prison for killing these scumbags? I didn't mean to kill them. I was just so upset," he added, and small tears began to leak from his eyes, which he hastily wiped away.

"Harry, I suggest that we take your cousin to Hogwarts and have him examined by Healer Pomfrey," Arcturus voiced his opinion. "She'll be able to check his magical levels, and no, Dudley, you're not going to go to prison. What you did was so-called accidental magic, which all magical children do, especially, when they get upset, and no one can hold you responsible for it," he added in a soft voice.

"Everything all right here?" Moody suddenly came around to them, giving the boys a sharp look.

"Yes sir. We're going to take my cousin to Hogwarts with us," Harry replied, smiling at the older wizard, only to add, "He seems to be magical."

"Accidental magic at his age is really rare though," Moody replied, eyeing Dudley with his magical eye in apparent suspicion. "Constant vigilance."

Turning to Dudley, Arcturus said, "If there's anything that you wish to take with you, go and collect it. You have five minutes, before we're going to leave."

"Yes," Dudley replied, obediently, causing Harry to give him a surprised look.

"He's under shock," Croaker, who had remained silent so far, informed him.

"Harry, let's go straight to the hospital wing," Arcturus continued, once Dudley returned carrying a backpack. "I'm going to take Dudley."

Harry nodded. "Dudley, it's all right," he said, soothingly. "Unspeakable Ra will take you to my school, and we'll meet again in a minute."

With that, he popped himself back to Hogwarts, right into the hospital wing, where Arcturus and Dudley arrived at the same time.

_'I can't believe that he's a wizard,'_ Harry thought, as he observed Poppy deal with his cousin_. 'He never displayed any magic before. I don't think he'd be able to kill Lestrange and Malfoy. Maybe someone else was there, too, or whatever happened to them. Now that both his parents are dead and he's not of age in the muggle world yet, he'll have to remain with his Aunt Marge or I have to become his guardian, because I'm an adult already. He won't want that though. At least in the magical world it wouldn't be a problem, as he's just turned seventeen, but in the muggle world...'_ His thoughts went haywire and only turned back to reality, when Poppy stepped over to him.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. __Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much._


	29. The Fluffy Pink Cuddly Killer Bear

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

"Your cousin is a wizard," the healer informed him, smiling.

Harry stared at the healer in disbelief. "Poppy, are you sure?" he asked, incredulously.

"Yes," Poppy confirmed. "Absolutely certain. His magic seems to have manifested very late. It was most likely triggered by the shock of seeing his parents being murdered by Malfoy and Lestrange. It's not very strong yet, but it's there, and it's probably going to become stronger over time, especially with training."

"Was his magic bound by Dumbledore or the Death Eaters?" Harry enquired, giving the healer a concerned look.

"I can neither confirm nor deny it," Poppy replied, thoughtfully. "On the one hand, it should become visible by the spells I used. On the other hand, if his magic completely got rid of any binding, it might not be traceable. Let's assume that his magic just only manifested extremely late. Sometimes, a person's magic only manifests upon reaching its majority at about seventeen, sometimes even later into the adulthood. It's rare but not unheard of."

"What are we going to do with him?" Harry wondered, aloud, glancing at the prone form of his cousin in the nearby bed.

Poppy let out a deep sigh. "For the time being, I've given him a dreamless sleep potion. Tomorrow will be another day, and you'll have to discuss the matter with him. We can't send him back to the muggle world with a clear conscience. His untrained magic would endanger him and his surroundings. I believe that it would be for the best if he remained at Hogwarts and studied together with the first-years. Maybe he could even receive some instructions and training during the summer, so that he could skip the first few years."

Harry nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Poppy. I'll discuss the matter with Amelia, and I'll be back in the morning."

"Please do so. Good night, Harry," Poppy said, warmly.

"Good night, Poppy, and thanks for taking care of him. Even if he was horrible in our childhood, he's still my cousin and he didn't deserve what happened to him tonight," Harry replied, before he spun around and left the hospital wing. As soon as the doors closed behind him, he popped back into the founders' quarters.

HP

In the morning, Amelia and Sirius held a longer conversation with Dudley and explained everything that had happened and that he was a wizard just like Harry and Sirius. They also discussed the threat that his magic would pose to others if he was not trained properly and suggested for him to remain at Hogwarts.

After a long discussion, Dudley accepted the invitation to study at Hogwarts during the summer and make a final decision about his future at the end of the summer holidays. All adults remaining in the castle during the holidays were going to take turns teaching the young man.

To Harry's surprise, it was Snape who was able to get the closest to Dudley – be it because of his friendship both with Lily and Petunia during their childhood, his own experiences in the muggle world or some other reason. However, the boy spent much of his free time with the potions master making infantile steps at assisting with the preparation of ingredients or just talking about the differences between the magical and the muggle world.

Feeling glad and relieved that the potions master spent so much time with his cousin, Harry profusely thanked the man, especially as he himself was away working with the Unspeakables on a daily basis just like during all the summer holidays before.

HP

On the day of the Dursleys' funeral, which Harry attended together with Dudley and Snape, a sudden thought struck Harry's mind.

"When is Malfoy's funeral going to be?" he enquired, giving Snape a questioning look.

"The day after tomorrow," the older wizard replied in clear surprise. "Why does that concern you?"

"What about Draco?" Harry blurted out. "He's still stuck in Gringotts."

"He won't be able to get out from there," the potions master informed him. "He won't even know about the matter."

"Sir, please excuse me," Harry replied in determination. "I need to go somewhere." With that, he popped away – much to Snape's and Dudley's surprise and annoyance.

HP

"Flash," Croaker said in surprise, when Harry returned to the Unspeakables' rooms. "I thought you weren't going to come back today."

"I thought about something," Harry informed the older wizard. "I know that Draco Malfoy is supposed to remain another year at Gringotts, however, first of all, I think that he should be allowed to attend his father's funeral, and secondly, maybe some of you could check if he already regrets what he did and could be set free sooner. I know that he tried to kill me," he added upon seeing Croaker's upset expression, "but he's seventeen now, and maybe he's changed."

Croaker remained pensive for a moment, before he relented. "Let's speak with team 5," he then suggested. "I trust that Ra and Meta would be predestined to discuss this with Buckbean and – provided that the goblins agree – check young Mr. Malfoy's mental state. You're too nice for your own good though."

HP

Buckbean took it upon himself to discuss the matter within Gringotts, and early the following morning, the goblin led Harry, Ra and Meta into a secure room within the bank together with Alastor Moody and Severus Snape, who accompanied them on Harry's request.

A thick glass wall separated them from the tiny room, where Draco Malfoy was sitting with two goblins armed with swords standing on each side of him.

"We wish for Mr. Malfoy to take Veritaserum brewed by the Potions Master of Hogwarts, Severus Snape," Ra spoke up in a firm voice.

Seeing Buckbean nod, Snape pulled a small phial out of his inner robe pocket.

"Three drops if you will, not more please," he instructed Buckbean, as he handed over the phial.

"I trust that it won't harm Mr. Malfoy?" the goblin enquired.

"Mr. Malfoy is my godson," Snape replied, sighing. "I would not want to harm him."

_'Oh,'_ Harry thought in surprise. _'I didn't know that. Oh well, I just hope that Draco will be able to redeem himself. I wonder what he's going to do if he manages to get out from here though. He's barely even finished his second Hogwarts year.'_

While his colleagues questioned the boy under Veritaserum, Harry's thoughts returned to his cousin, who had – during the six days since he came to Hogwarts – better adapted to the magical world than Harry could have imagined, and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself.

"Flash," Ra suddenly addressed him. "Do you have any questions for Mr. Malfoy?"

Harry nodded, confident that his voice was automatically turned unrecognisable, when he was wearing his hood. "Mr. Malfoy, do you know why you're here with the goblins?"

"Because I tried to kill Harry Potter."

"Why was that?"

"Because it was his fault that my father was in Azkaban."

"Do you think it was right to do so?"

"No."

"Would you ever try to kill him again?"

"No."

"Would you want to follow in your father's footsteps if you were free?"

"Definitely not."

The answers came automatically and without any sufficient pause to possibly think of a reply.

"What would you do if you were freed a year earlier than intended?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I'd somehow like to finish my schooling, but other than that, I've no idea. Perhaps work with the goblins. They're great, and they made me see reason about Father, Harry Potter and everything."

Suddenly, an idea pressed itself to the front of Harry's mind, and he asked, "Would you be willing to work together with a muggleborn?"

"Yes," Draco replied without wavering.

"You finished your second Hogwarts year," Harry said, pensively. "Would you be willing to attend classes from third year onwards together with Harry Potter's cousin, who has recently been found to have magic and is currently taking lessons at Hogwarts. He's of the same age as you, and you could study together."

"Yes, I'd like that," Draco confirmed, and his lips bent to a tiny smile.

"A brilliant idea," Snape spoke up, before he motioned for Buckbean to administer the antidote to the Veritaserum.

A short discussion later, Draco was released to accompany his godfather to Hogwarts.

HP

Harry only saw Draco again during the weekend, when they met for the meals in the Great Hall. During the week, he often left, when everyone else was still asleep, and took breakfast in the Unspeakables' rooms. In the evenings, he often returned to Hogwarts too late for dinner in the Great Hall.

Draco was staying in a guestroom in Snape's quarters in contrary to Dudley, whom Harry had invited to live in one of the empty bedrooms in the founders' quarters.

Snape had accompanied Draco to his father's funeral and had also introduced him to Dudley, and the two boys seemed to get along well.

_'Thank Merlin,_' Harry thought. '_We've got enough problems without the two of them causing even more.'_

"Potter," Draco addressed him in a firm voice and, seeing Harry look at him, continued, "I'm sorry."

Harry merely nodded, not really knowing how to reply. "Just don't cast the killing curse at me or at anyone here again," he finally said.

"I won't," Draco promised. "I also want to thank you, as I heard that it was you who tried to get me out of there early."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, smiling genuinely.

HP

The party for Harry's seventeenth birthday was in full swing with all the children of the Alliance as well as the teachers, who were at Hogwarts during the holidays, as well as team 5 of the Unspeakables assembled in the founders' quarters, when all of a sudden, Croaker's Patronus appeared in the living room.

"Team 5, the ministry is under attack. Your presence is required instantly."

"Harry, be careful," Astoria instructed him, knowing that he would have to leave without having even time to say good-bye.

"Don't forget your killer bear form," Luna added, smiling knowingly.

"All right, sorry, see you later," Harry hissed, before he popped away to save the ministry of magic, summoning his Unspeakable robes as well as a bottle of Franconian Fairy Fizzle from his room on his way.

HP

By the time he arrived in the atrium of the ministry after donning his robes including hood and quickly inhaling the wine in a quiet corner, a fight between Death Eaters and Aurors was already full underway.

_'I wonder if Voldemort is here, too,'_ Harry thought, as he recalled Luna's words and quickly transformed into his pink cuddly killer bear form.

=Where's Voldemort?= he muttered, as he carefully stepped around the fighting people, causing everyone to stare at the strange looking animal in apparent disbelief.

To his relief, no one even attempted to cast a spell at him; everyone merely stepped out of his way.

_'Ah, there he is,'_ he realised upon seeing the evil wizard, just when Voldemort cast the killing curse at Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

"Tom Riddle, come to me and let me cuddle with you," Harry hissed in Parseltongue that came automatically upon Voldemort's sight. "I love you, and I wish to cuddle with you."

By now, Death Eaters and Aurors had made a circle around them, and everyone was watching the scene with apparent interest, completely forgetting about their fight.

Harry took a few steps in the direction of the evil wizard, who came to stand in front of him, seemingly uncomfortable.

"I don't do such thingsss as cuddle, let alone with a pink bear that speaksss Parssseltongue," Voldemort hissed; however, Harry quickly slang pink arms around the evil wizard's middle and fiercely bit into his belly.

"What are you doing? That hurt!" Voldemort shouted, pushing him away, before he suddenly let out a loud groan and slumped onto the floor, dead.

When Harry took his eyes off the evil wizard, he realised in surprise, however, with relief, that all the Death Eaters had already been put into body-binds. The Aurors were just checking them, handing out one-way tickets to Azkaban to those, who had already been sentenced to a stay in prison, or to the ministry holding cells to everyone else.

"It's over," Moody announced. "Pink cuddle bear, if you will transform back into your human form, so that we can thank you properly please."

Harry shook his head and popped away, right back to his birthday party, leaving the Aurors and ministry workers in a huge uproar.

HP

"We need to know who saved everyone's life and ended the war," Moody growled. "Does anyone know who that was?"

"That was one of our Unspeakables," Croaker informed the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. "If he wishes to be unrecognised, he will. I shall relay your gratitude."

_'I don't like it,'_ Moody thought in annoyance, when he recalled that the bear had spoken what seemed to have been Parseltongue. "That was Harry Potter," he said, grimly, nodding contentedly, when none of the Unspeakables contradicted.

_'And he's going to get the Order of Merlin first class, even if that's going to be my last action to prepare it for the next minister to award it. Right afterwards, I'm going to retire. I need to ask Sirius to take over the position immediately. I've continued on his behalf long enough.'_

With that decision in mind, he returned to his office to send his Patronus to one Lord Sirius Black.

HP

On the first of September, not only Dudley was sorted in addition to the new first-years, but also Draco asked Amelia to be re-sorted, as he did not wish to associate himself with his former classmates and his late father's friends' children.

In the end, Dudley and Draco were both sorted into Hufflepuff, and Amelia instructed the house-elves to place two beds for them into the seventh-year boys' dormitory, where they would remain until they had taken their NEWTs.

"If they continue to make progress like during this summer, they should be able to take their NEWTs in two years' time," Amelia informed the family, when they were assembled in the founders' living room after the welcoming feast.

"Now," Sirius spoke up, wearing a strangely sombre expression, "who's willing to teach Alchemy from January onwards?"

A collective gasp was his response.

Finally, Daphne was the first to speak up. "I'd like that very much," she said, smiling. "However, I'm not in the least qualified, and I haven't even taken my NEWT yet."

Sirius nodded in apparent agreement, and Harry knew that Daphne really was the best of their class, when it came to Alchemy.

"I believe that Daphne would be the best for the job," Harry replied, "however, I'd love to know why. Are you going to run for Minister of Magic?"

"Oh Merlin no," Sirius blurted out, glaring at Harry. "That's what I have Meli for," he added, grinning at his wife.

Amelia shook her head. "No Sirius, I told you already that I'm going to remain at Hogwarts, especially now that we're expecting a little one."

"You're pregnant?" Susan blurted out in obvious delight.

"Please keep it to yourselves for the time being," Amelia replied, smiling, causing everyone to nod their heads in promise.

"I'm going to be the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as Moody wants to retire by the end of the year," Sirius informed them. "Fortunately, the office has its own floo connection, so that I'll be well able to travel to work and back from here."

"Who's going to be the Minister of Magic then?" Susan enquired. "If Auntie's not available…" She trailed off, looking questioningly at the adults.

"As long as it's not Dumbledore…" Astoria quipped.

"Albus Dumbledore is a criminal and will definitely not be able to become the minister," Amelia confirmed in a no-nonsense voice.

"About the Alchemy position," Harry addressed Daphne, "we're all going to study together with you. Perhaps we can all take our NEWT together during the Christmas holidays, so you're not alone."

"Thanks," Daphne replied, sounding relieved.

HP

Fortunately, apart from the group, no other seventh-years were taking Alchemy, so that Sirius decided to give them two additional classes a week during the weekend, and by Halloween, the class had already almost reached the class goal.

'_So Daphne is going to remain at Hogwarts as a professor,'_ Harry mused during the Halloween party. _'I wonder what everyone else is going to do. I'm somehow going to remain at Hogwarts in any case though.'_ He resolved to discuss the matter with his friends at the next opportunity. During fifth-year, Jessica had spoken about the matter with each of them, however, no one had been very clear about it following that conversation.

All of a sudden, a telepathic message reached him that instantly reminded him of his recent birthday. 'Team 5, please come to the ministry immediately.'

_'What is it now?'_ Harry wondered in annoyance, as he popped away summoning his Unspeakable garment and a bottle of the Franconian Fairy Fizzle on the way. Arriving in a quiet corner, he quickly downed the wine. '_Getting experience,_' he thought in annoyance.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind reviews for the previous chapter. __Please let me know what you think. I appreciate it very much._


	30. Arrangements

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

Once again, many people were gathered in the Atrium. However, no one seemed to be fighting, and Harry curiously looked around.

Just a moment later, the new Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, addressed the audience, using a Sonorus charm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Halloween party of the Ministry of Magic. I am very happy and honoured to make it one of my first actions as minister to award the Order of Merlin first class to one honourable member of our midst."

_'Oh no, he can't mean me now, can he?'_ Harry thought, horrified, however, quickly dismissed the idea as absurd. Only now did he realise that everyone but his colleagues and himself was wearing dress robes.

"Exactly three months ago, here in the Atrium, a very courageous wizard used his Animagus form, that of a fluffy pink cuddly killer bear, to get rid of Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort or the Dark Lord, who has pulled our world in two lengthy wars and killed many people in our country. I wish to thank this brilliant wizard for his service to all of us and call forward Unspeakable Flash. Please come here to me."

Harry inwardly groaned in annoyance, although he felt grateful that Shacklebolt had at least not called him by his real name.

_'I could simply ignore that,'_ he thought. _'No one outside the Unspeakables knows that I'm Flash.'_

However, Meta was standing right behind him and carefully pushed him through the applauding crowd until he was standing in front of the minister.

"Flash?" Shacklebolt enquired, giving him a sharp look.

"Yes sir," Harry confirmed. "I don't need anything though. I only did it, because it was the right thing to do."

"Nevertheless, you did our country a great service, and I wish you to receive the Order of Merlin first class," Shacklebolt replied in a firm voice, carefully adjusting a long necklace around his neck.

Huge applause from the audience showed the appreciation of everyone gathered.

_'The Order of Merlin first class. Wow,'_ Harry thought, eyeing the pendant on his necklace with apprehension.

"Thank you, sir," he replied, slightly inclining his head.

HP

To his relief, the Sentinel did not reveal his real name either, although it was clear that the Ministry of Magic was aware of it, considering that the one million Galleon award for the Order of Merlin first class was placed into the Gringotts vault of one Harry Potter.

HP

During the remaining months of their seventh year, Harry spent much time planning his future and the future of his enlarged family. He was unable to deny that he was in love with four different witches, and after long hours of pondering the matter, he made a decision.

The idea was based on a suggestion that Pandora Lovegood and her husband had made to him years ago, and while he had fiercely rejected it at first, he felt now inclined to follow his heart and propose to all four of them.

_'I can only do this after we all finish school though,'_ he thought, resolving to use the week between the NEWT exams and the end of the school year to speak with the girls. _'I still have some planning to do, and I need four rings and one for me that matches them all,'_ he decided and headed to confer with Buckbean about the matter one day after work.

One day, Amelia called him into her office to speak with him in private.

"Is something wrong?" Harry enquired, giving the heavily pregnant witch a concerned look.

Amelia smiled. "No Harry, everything is fine. I just have something that I'd like to ask of you." Seeing that Harry was hanging on her lips, she continued, "As you know, our baby is going to be born in a month's time as is the child of Miranda and Remus, and I was thinking about something. What do you think about adding a primary school and a playschool respectively nursery to Hogwarts? I suppose that our babies aren't going to remain the only young ones in the next couple of years, and I'd be willing to become the headmistress to the primary school and playschool if you become the general headmaster of Hogwarts. As the owner, you should be the headmaster anyway."

Harry remained thoughtful for a moment; however, he did not have to think long. "Amelia, this is a brilliant idea," he conceded. "I'd even extend the matter and add a home for retired teachers right next to it. I can imagine that teachers, for example, such as Minerva, would prefer to remain close to the school, when they retired. They might even be willing to help taking care of the little ones."

Amelia immediately agreed with his plan, and during the following months before the end of the school year, a couple of architects busied themselves constructing two buildings on the far side of the Hogwarts grounds.

"It doesn't matter that they're separate buildings," Amelia told him, "as we can simply equip them with connecting doors, for example, leading from the school's entrance hall to the entrance halls of each of the buildings."

"Harry, Auntie," Susan spoke up one day. "You know that Neville and I are going to marry in the summer and that he's going to become Professor Skeeter's assistant." Amelia and Harry nodded, and she continued, "I'd like to remain at Hogwarts as well. Could I perhaps become a teacher at the primary school respectively playschool?"

"Of course," Harry said, warmly. "We even need you to become a teacher, won't we, Amelia?"

"Absolutely," the older witch agreed. "I'll be glad for any help anyway, as this little one is taking not only all of my time, but also all of my energy," she said, looking fondly at her two-month-old daughter Lily.

Susan chuckled. "Give her to me, Auntie," she said in a soft voice, "and thanks, both of you."

Harry merely grinned. _'That's one part of my plan taken care of without any manipulation whatsoever,'_ he thought in amusement, _'especially as Susan seems to be extremely good with the babies.'_

HP

In the afternoon after their last NEWT exam, Harry asked Astoria to join him on a date. He had in advance received permission from Amelia and Jessica Greengrass to take Astoria to Hogsmeade for the evening.

"Does anyone know that we're leaving the grounds?" Astoria quipped, chuckling, as they walked towards the Hogsmeade main street.

"Amelia and your mum know," Harry replied, smiling, causing Astoria to stop walking and stare at him in surprise.

"Mum?" she asked, incredulously.

"Well, since you're not of age for another two weeks," Harry said, making the girl roll her eyes in apparent annoyance, _'plus, she's our head of house.'_

_'She's beautiful,'_ he thought, _'from the outside like from the inside.'_ He unobtrusively admired the girl, who was wearing her long, brown hair open for once, well remembering that it had been her who had – admittedly together with her sister – rescued him from the Dursleys and introduced him to the magical world in the first place. _'She's the one who initialised everything, the one who stood up to Dumbledore for me in the first place,'_ he thought, feeling very happy to have the wonderful girl so close to himself.

"Is something wrong?" Astoria asked, apparently noticing his look.

"You're beautiful," Harry breathed, smiling.

"Thank you," Astoria replied, grinning.

Harry led Astoria into the Three Broomsticks, where he had reserved a private room for the two of them.

"Let's have dinner here for a change," he suggested, and Astoria happily agreed.

"An unexpected date," she quipped, "how cool is that?"

Harry's expression faltered, and the girl asked, "Harry? Is something wrong? Somehow, you seem strangely agitated tonight."

"No." Harry shook his head. "This is just so difficult." Taking her small, slender hands in his own, he looked into her beautiful green eyes and asked, "Astoria, please let me finish and hear me out first."

Astoria nodded, looking at him in clear expectation.

_'I can do that,'_ Harry encouraged himself, before he slowly began to speak. "For a long time, I've been having feelings for you, and during this school year, I've realised that I love you and want to be together with you forever. However, there are three other witches, whom I love as well, and I am unable to decide on just one of you. If you don't mind me having three other wives as well, I'd like to ask you to become my wife and the Lady Potter."

He stood from his chair and walked around the table, so that he came to stand next to her. Pulling a small box out of his robe pocket, he carefully slid the ring onto her finger. It was plain silver with a panther and a griffin engraved into it, matching their Animagi forms.

"Yes," Astoria replied, simply, giving him a broad smile, and the ring adjusted itself to the right size.

"Really?" Harry asked in excitement, unable to believe his luck.

"Of course," Astoria replied, grinning. "Thanks for asking me. This is absolutely beautiful," she added, admiring the ring.

"Your wedding ring will hold the Potter crest," Harry promised, smiling.

The two still seventh-year students spent the whole evening in Hogsmeade, making plans for the future and talking about this and that.

"I've already spoken with Poppy," Astoria informed him with apparent eagerness. "I'm going to become her apprentice, so that I can take over as healer, when she's going to retire in three years' time."

"Oh, that's brilliant," Harry replied, inwardly grinning, as this was exactly what he had assumed his future wife to do. "Please keep our engagement to yourself, until I've spoken with the other three as well. Your ring is charmed to only be visible to the two of us for the time being," he said, causing Astoria to nod in understanding.

"Thanks for making me the Lady Potter," she said. "I assume that the post is special among your wives."

"It is," Harry assured her, unable to keep himself from blushing. _'And you so much deserve it,'_ he added without voicing the thought.

"Oh, by the way," Astoria told him on the way back to Hogwarts, "did you hear that Daphne and Dudley became girlfriend and boyfriend? I still can't believe that she'd fall for someone who hasn't even been in the magical world for a year, but well, if she loves him, who am I to complain?" she commented, chuckling.

Harry stared at her in surprise. "Oh well, that's really a surprise," he replied, "although they have to be careful while she's a teacher and he still a student. Some people at the school might not take this well. But I'm really happy for them."

"Me too," Astoria agreed, happily responding, when Harry pulled her into a passionate kiss.

_'This was easy and delighting,'_ he thought, once they were back at Hogwarts. _'I just hope the other conversations will go as well.'_

HP

He waited a few days to mentally prepare himself for his conversation with Julia.

On Sunday afternoon, he asked her out onto the grounds.

"Harry?" Julia asked in surprise. "Where are we going?"

"Shhh," Harry replied, gently capturing her lips with his own. "A surprise," he added, once he released the girl. He led the girl to the spot, where Professor Scamander was keeping the hippogriffs, and addressed one of them.

"Buckbeak, would you mind Julia and me riding on you for a little while?" he asked, bowing deeply.

From the corners of his eyes, he saw that Julia swiftly followed his example.

Of course, he had spoken not only with Professor Scamander but also with the hippogriff in advance and knew that both agreed with whatever he wished to do on this day.

Two minutes later, he was sitting on the hippogriff with Julia in front of him and both his arms were gently slang around the girl's waist, as they were flying over the lake.

After flying and thoroughly enjoying themselves for a little while, the hippogriff made a soft landing on a small island, which was not visible from the school. Harry had only discovered it by chance, when he was flying in his griffin form before.

Dobby had prepared everything as discussed beforehand, and while Buckbeak found some water and hippogriff delicacies to consume, Julia and Harry sat on the picnic mat, eyeing the wonderful meal in front of them in anticipation.

"This looks beautiful," Julia said, smiling broadly. "You're amazing, Harry."

"No." Harry shook his head. "Dobby is amazing, and you are, too."

Summoning all the courage he could muster, he explained what he had already told Astoria about marrying four witches and proposed to her.

"I want to ask you to become my wife and the Lady Slytherin-Hufflepuff," he said in a soft voice.

Julia happily agreed, eying the small silver ring with two serpents, which were entwined in each other, in clear admiration. "Yes Harry, and thank you so much for asking me," she said, smiling broadly. "I'm so very happy."

"Me too," Harry admitted, before he leaned over and gently pulled his fiancée into a soft kiss. "I've spoken with your father by the way, and he has agreed," Harry informed her.

"Mum?" Julia asked, grinning broadly.

Harry shook his head. "Not yet," he admitted.

"Doesn't matter," Julia replied, happily. "She'll agree, and if not, it's her loss, not ours. I'd even marry you if Dad hadn't agreed."

Only on time for curfew, the still seventh-years asked Buckbeak to take them back to Hogwarts.

"The ring is beautiful," Julia said, thoroughly admiring the pattern of snakes, when they were walking over the Hogwarts grounds after seeing the hippogriff home.

"The snakes are able to communicate with those on my ring. You can just give them a message for me," Harry explained. "Oh, and your wedding ring will hold the crest of the Slytherin-Hufflepuff family."

"Tell Harry I love him," Julia hissed to the snakes on her ring.

'Julia said she loves you,' the snakes on Harry's ring informed him.

"I love you, too," Harry replied. "You don't even have to speak with them. You can just try to think to them, at least I hope so," he added, realising a moment later that it, indeed, worked.

HP

For Luna, Harry had thought of something different. On Tuesday afternoon after the last afternoon class, he took her aside and popped them right into the muggle zoo, where they spent a few hours observing the animals, before he chose a spot next to the pen of the baboons, which Luna seemed to especially like, to sit down for their picnic, which Dobby dutifully brought, as soon as Harry called hm.

Apparently noticing Harry fidget over his dinner, Luna stared at him, smiling broadly.

"Harry, you know that I don't mind the other wives. You can just simply ask me," she said, looking at him, innocently.

Harry inwardly groaned. "Ah Luna, is there anything you don't know?" he asked with a combination of frustration and relief. "Will you marry me?" he then added, simply.

"Yes," Luna replied, matter-of-factly, only to add, "future Lord Lovegood. Do Mum and Dad know about this?" she then asked, as she admired her ring.

"Of course," Harry replied, before he gently pulled her close and kissed her.

They continued observing the baboons for a while, both wrapped in their own thoughts, before Luna spoke up again.

"Are we going to hold a quadruple wedding at Hogwarts?" she enquired.

"As you wish," Harry replied, uncertainly. "Why don't you speak with the others, and the four of you decide together?"

"We'll do that," Luna replied, before she asked, pensively, "Did Hermione agree to this?"

Harry stared at his fiancée in shock. "I haven't asked her yet," he admitted. "Do you believe that she'll not agree?"

Luna shook her head. "Harry, I don't know that. I'm just thinking that she might be having wrackspurts. Did you speak with her parents yet?"

"No," Harry admitted, letting out a long sigh. "I was thinking about reversing the sequence in her case, because they're muggles, and they might easier agree, when we ask them together."

"That might be true," Luna agreed, smiling again. "But maybe not. Good luck, Harry."

"Thanks dear," Harry replied, before he popped them back to Hogwarts.

HP

He realised soon that Luna's hesitation about Hermione seemed to be reasonable.

In the evening before the leaving feast, he took her to a small muggle restaurant in London, which Sirius had recommended by him. It was very cosy and surrounded by bookshelves, thus providing an atmosphere that Hermione loved.

However, if he had expected Hermione to take the news that she had to share him with three other wives as well as the others, he was going to be extremely disappointed.

"Harry, I don't think I can do that," she whispered, tears beginning to leak from her eyes. "You know that my parents are muggles, and they're religious as well, but in the muggle world as well as in the Christian church, it is not only unheard of but even forbidden to marry more than one wife." Letting out a deep sigh, while her tears were now flowing freely, she added, "Please give me some time to think about it and perhaps even speak with my parents about the matter. I'm so sorry, Harry."

"It's all right. I understand," Harry replied in a soft voice, feverishly suppressing his own tears of disappointment. "Let's return to Hogwarts, and all I ask is that you consider the matter and perhaps speak with your parents about it."

"I will, Harry," Hermione promised, "and thanks for considering me."

HP

For Harry, a world broke together. While he had been hesitant at first, thinking that it would be better to only marry one wife, he had felt more confident after his conversations with Astoria and Julia and had not even considered that Hermione could refuse the position of the Lady Gryffindor-Ravenclaw. Only when he was alone in his bed in the founders' quarters did he allow his tears to flow.

_'Maybe I should have decided on one,' _he thought, wondering whom he would have chosen as his wife if he had to elect just one. _'I really don't know,'_ he realised. _'I love them all. Each of them is brilliant in her own way. Oh well, I don't have to decide anymore anyway, considering that I already proposed to the other three and they all accepted. I don't have a clue what to do with the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family,'_ he suddenly realised.

_tbc..._

_Thank you very much for your kind - and the funny - reviews for the previous chapter. _


	31. The Family

**What if someone was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore**  
**by Teddylonglong**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
__I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

_Warnings: Completely AU, partly OOC, Dumbledore bashing_

* * *

In the morning, Harry, Astoria, Daphne, Susan, Luna and Julia saw their friends to the Hogwarts Express, before they returned to the founders' quarters.

Originally, they had intended to spend a little while in Hogsmeade before returning to the castle, however, Harry seemed so subdued that the girls had unanimously decided to get to the ground of his problem before doing anything else.

He had only told Astoria about the matter, when the observing witch had cornered him before breakfast.

"Where are Draco and Dudley today?" Julia asked Daphne. "Do they have lessons with the teachers again?"

"No, not today," Daphne replied, smirking. "They've gone on an urgent errand together. I suppose that they're going to be back soon enough though."

"I hope everything goes well," Astoria muttered to herself, however, Harry knew better than to question her.

Apart from that, he still felt as if he was stuck in a nightmare. _'Hermione rejected me,_' he thought, horrified. _'What am I going to do with the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family? I don't want to marry anyone else.'_

HP

Back at the school, they sat in the living room of the founders' quarters, where – almost as if by a silent agreement – the rest of their family minus the friends who were on their way home as well as Dudley, Draco and Snape – joined them after a short while.

"Now Harry, will you enlighten all of us what's wrong please?" Sirius spoke up, giving his godson a questioning look.

Harry let out a deep sigh. "During the last week, I've proposed to the four witches, whom I want to marry," he began to explain, looking up, startled, when Poppy let out a small gasp.

"Polygamy, yes, but as rare as it is, it's not forbidden in the magical world," he quickly defended himself.

"That's fine, Harry. I'm sorry, I was merely surprised," Poppy replied, smiling.

"Anyway," Harry continued, "Astoria accepted to become the Lady Potter, Julia the Lady Slytherin-Hufflepuff and Luna the Lady Lovegood with me as her husband. However, last night I asked Hermione to become my wife and the Lady Gryffindor-Ravenclaw, and she refused."

Harry could not help himself blushing, as everyone looked at him with expressions reaching from pity over compassion to fury.

"It's all right, she's muggleborn and her parents are muggles, and polygamy isn't allowed in the muggle world," he explained, only to add, "The problem is not only that I'm sad, because I love her, but also that I don't know what to do with the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family. I don't want to marry anyone else but those I love, and Susan and Daphne are already promised to others."

"Oh I tell you now, stay away from Daphne," Dudley spoke up, who had joined the family together with Draco a minute ago.

"Is Snape not with you?" Daphne asked in apparent surprise, causing the boys to shake their heads.

"He wanted to brew something," Draco replied, making himself comfortable in an empty spot on the sofa.

"Harry, perhaps we could unite the Slytherin-Hufflepuff and the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw family," Julia spoke up, hesitantly. "If we manage to have two boys, we can always separate the families again."

Harry nodded. "We could do that," he admitted, sighing.

"Nah," Draco spoke up, "just wait, Granger will come around."

"I think so too," Dudley added, smirking.

"Since when have the two of you become so smart?" Astoria quipped, teasingly.

Harry did not notice the pointed looks that the Greengrass sisters gave Draco and Dudley.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen graduates," Amelia suddenly spoke up, "we've got a lot of work to do if we want the new buildings to be ready for everyone by the first of September, especially if we consider that we have a couple of weddings to get through during this summer. I suggest that we set to work."

She handed a parchment each to Draco and Dudley. "This is your summer timetable. Don't think that you'll get off lightly. I expect that the two of you will be able to take your OWLs at the end of the holidays."

The expressions of the two young wizards, who had been smirking ever since they had joined them in the living room, sobered all of a sudden.

"Yes," they confirmed, simultaneously.

"I'll head to the Unspeakables' office," Harry excused himself. He had arranged with his colleagues that he was only going to practise with them during July, before he was going to officially take over the position as headmaster. From that point onwards, he was only going to assist whenever their team was needed and attend the weekly meeting on Wednesday evenings.

_'Oh, that reminds me of something,'_ Harry thought, recalling that he had to urgently speak with Severus Snape. '_I just hope he'll agree,_' he thought, as he made his way into the dungeons.

HP

"You want me to do what?" Snape queried abruptly, quirking an eyebrow in apparent exasperation.

"To become my deputy headmaster, sir," Harry repeated, patiently. "Please sir."

"Why not Black?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Would you deem Sirius adequate as headmaster, sir?"

"No."

Inwardly groaning, Harry enquired, "Is there any way that I can convince you to take the post?"

"Mr. Potter," Snape set to reply; however, Harry interrupted him.

"Harry," he said, "please call me Harry, considering that we're now colleagues in any case, and please think about the matter. I'd really like to have you as the deputy headmaster."

"Please call me Severus then. Why not Lupin?" Severus queried, strictly.

"Because he's as busy with little James as Sirius with Baby Lily," Harry replied, pointing out that both Marauders had babies and were already beginning to teach them to become the next Marauders.

"All right then, you win. And now leave me in peace," Severus growled, causing Harry to grin.

"Thank you, sir," he replied, feeling extremely relieved at the prospect of having an experienced teacher as his deputy.

HP

It was already quite late, when Harry returned from the Unspeakables' office that night, and he had expected his whole family to already be asleep. '_I hope they're having an Animagi night. That would just be what I need today,' _he thought, as he stepped out of his room. However, much to his surprise, everyone was still sitting in the living room – apparently waiting for him.

"Hi," Harry greeted them, immediately recalling their meeting from the morning, and his mood dropped, instantly, when all of a sudden, something brown rushed towards him and attacked from his right side. He was almost ready to panic, when he recognised Hermione, who had thrown herself at him and was sobbing into his shoulder.

"Mione," he said in confusion, carefully pushing her away to look into her face. "What are you doing here? Did something happen to your parents?" he asked in concern.

"No Harry, I'm so sorry," Hermione sobbed. "I talked to my parents, and they already knew about it and said I was stupid to not accept your proposal. Is it still valid, and do you still want me to become your wife?"

"Of course," Harry replied, when his mind finally registered the meaning of the sobbed words. "Wait a moment, please," he added and popped right into his bedroom to fetch the ring, which he had buried deep in the lowest drawer. Popping back right in front of the girl, he gently slid it over her finger, where it automatically adjusted to the right size.

"Thank you Harry," Hermione said, and a huge smile appeared on her tear-stricken face.

"Thank you for accepting," Harry replied, feeling extremely happy, when a sudden thought crossed his mind. "Wait, you said your parents knew?" he queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Apparently, Dudley and Draco went there this morning and explained everything to them," Hermione replied, turning around to look at the two boys.

"Daphne sent us," Dudley said, shrugging.

"as we're so good at explaining the habits of the magical world to muggles," Draco quipped, causing both boys to grin.

"Thanks Dudley and Draco and Astoria and Daphne," Harry replied, shaking his head in amazement. _'Draco and Dudley of all people,'_ he thought in disbelief.

"Well, that was our good deed for these holidays," Draco added, and Dudley nodded, smirking.

HP

At the end of July – on the day after Susan's and Neville's wedding – Harry and the four girls married in one big wedding ceremony, and at the end of the day, which was also his eighteenth birthday, Harry found himself to be the husband to four energetic wives.

Instead of going on a honeymoon with five people, he asked each of his wives out on a three-day honeymoon. Each time, he took just one of his wives to a magical resort, where they spent three days for just the two of them, which each of the girls seemed to enjoy very much.

Harry had to admit to himself that he also liked just having one of them with him. It also gave him the chance to become intimate with each of his wives, something which would certainly be difficult in the future, when he had to divide himself between the four of them.

HP

The rest of the summer was spent finishing the primary school building that also included the playschool and the building of the home for the retired teachers. On the first of September, Minerva, Filius Flitwick and Newt Scamander were going to become the first residents in the new home, and Minerva was already looking forward to watching their babies in the new combined playschool and nursery.

"I know that it's only going to take nine months, considering that you spent three days alone with each of your wives," she told Harry in apparent excitement, causing Harry to roll his eyes at the former deputy headmistress.

"Professor, even if you're now living in the retirement home, I still expect you to participate in our Animagi nights," he told the old witch, who nodded, smiling.

"I did not assume anything else, Headmaster," she replied, her mouth stretching to a rare smile.

HP

After the Sorting on the first of September, Harry introduced Professor Bones as the headmistress for the new primary school, playschool and nursery and himself as the headmaster with Professor Snape as his deputy. "Professor Hermione Gryffindor-Ravenclaw will be Professor McGonagall's successor as Transfiguration professor, Professor Julia Slytherin-Hufflepuff is our new Care of Magical Creatures instructor, Professor Luna Lovegood is the new Charms teacher, and Astoria Potter our new healer's apprentice. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Scamander have moved to the teachers' retirement home, the right of the two new buildings, which you have seen on the grounds. And now enjoy the feast."

"That was a long speech," Severus whispered to him. "Dumbledore always only said something like 'Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!' instead of explaining so much."

"Very well," Harry conceded, smirking, "from next year onwards, I'll make sure to leave the complete welcoming feast solely to my deputy."

HP

As Minerva had predicted, not only Susan's and Neville's son, but also Harry's four children – two boys from Astoria and Julia and two girls from Luna and Hermione – were born during the following spring. Harry's wives gave birth to four more children in the following year, among them three boys and one girl.

Luna was devastated. "How many children do we need, before I'll be able to produce an heir?" she sobbed, completely envying her co-wives who had at least one son each.

"We can have as many children as you wish dear," Harry replied in a soothing voice, "and if none of them is a boy, one of the girls can just marry one of Susan's and Neville's or Daphne's and Dudley's sons to keep up the Lovegood family. Don't worry about that now, dear."

"That's true," Astoria, who had unobtrusively entered the room, quipped. "It's bedtime now though, and you should join us for an Animagus night." Pointing to the new-born in her crib, she uttered, "just like her seven brothers and sisters, she's already an Animagus."

"What?" Harry asked, alert, eyeing the kitten lying in the crib with a huge smile.

"As I said, we're having an Animagi night together with the whole family," Astoria explained, "and each of the other babies just transformed as well, just like their older siblings did from the beginning."

"Amazing," Harry admitted, feeling extremely happy.

"We're the animals of the black lake, and they just followed the call. I didn't expect anything else. Anyway, let's join the others," Luna said in a soft voice, as she cradled her new kitten close. "It's a black panther baby," she added, giving her daughter a dreamy look.

=She's absolutely perfect,= Harry supplied in his griffin form, =as are you.=

**_Eleven years later…_**

Eleven years later, Harry and his wives were extremely excited, knowing that their first four children were going to be sorted soon.

"They're all going to be Hufflepuffs," Luna said, knowingly. "They belong to the animals of the black lake like all of us, so what else would they be if not Hufflepuffs?"

"I only know that they're going to be troublemakers just like the Marauders were," Minerva spoke up. "I'm really glad that I retired just on time. It was bad enough having these mischief-makers in the playschool and primary school. Thank Merlin I won't be responsible for them once they become teenagers."

"Ah but Granny Mina, we're not so bad," Rowena, who looked like the spitting image of her mother Hermione with Harry's green eyes, quipped.

"Well," Minerva conceded, "it's much easier when all of you are in your Animagi forms. They are much better to control."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, doubtfully. Even if Minerva had had her share with his children during their time at the playschool and primary school, a recent experience of searching the castle for three feline Animagi still remained in the front of his mind. They had not even been on the Marauders' Map, and only by chance had Luna thought about searching the Chamber of Secrets, where they had finally found the three felines fast asleep on Amaterasu's back.

HP

At breakfast the following morning, Harry received a message from Buckbean demanding that he should come to see him at his earliest convenience.

_'So much about having time to do some last-minute preparations for the new school year,'_ Harry thought in annoyance, as he obediently made his way to Gringotts right after the meal.

"I've called you here to inform you about the decease of Albus Dumbledore," Buckbean informed him. "Apparently, he passed away last night in his home in Italy. He was found by his house-elves, who seem to have determined as reason for his death that he choked on a lemon drop. Oh well, I suppose that he reached a good age in any case."

"Excuse me, sir, but what do I have to do with the matter?" Harry asked in bewilderment.

"Albus Dumbledore has left you all his belongings, his houses, his house-elves and liquid assets," Buckbean replied. "You're also entitled to take the lordship of the Dumbledore family."

"Buckbean," Harry groaned, "I'm already married to four wives. I don't want to have a fifth wife."

Buckbean looked at him in what seemed to be amusement. "There is another way," he said, smirking. "You could absorb the Dumbledore family into one of your other families."

"Yes, that's better," Harry immediately decided. "Excuse me though, I need to speak with my wives about the matter. Would it be soon enough if I sent you a message later today?"

"Of course," Buckbean agreed, smiling.

HP

Back at Hogwarts, Harry informed his extended family about the matter, before he enquired, "Astoria, shall we integrate the Dumbledore family into the Potter family?"

His youngest wife looked at him in apparent amusement. "Of course, Harry, why not? That way, we won't have to hear the name Dumbledore anymore I suppose," she quipped, causing his other wives to chuckle.

"Well, it's only fitting that you get to absorb his name," Harry replied in a firm voice, "considering that you were the first who was willing to stand up against Albus Dumbledore."

**The End**

_Thank you all so very much for your continuous support throughout this story. I really appreciate it._


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